Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Morgan Stanley

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.13% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.89.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WES traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $44.78. 544,416 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,203,834. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.15. Western Midstream Partners has a 1-year low of $36.90 and a 1-year high of $50.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 33.13% and a net margin of 29.44%. The company’s revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Frederick Forthuber acquired 5,140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.62 per share, with a total value of $249,906.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 5,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $249,906.80. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter worth $8,244,000. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 6.7% during the first quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,234,879 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $50,840,000 after buying an additional 77,202 shares in the last quarter. Berkley W R Corp boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 42.8% during the first quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 1,266,970 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $52,161,000 after buying an additional 379,807 shares in the last quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 408,023 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $18,104,000 after buying an additional 33,200 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 78,819 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 24,573 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Midstream Partners

Western Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE:WES) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and treating services for natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids and produced water.

Western Midstream’s assets include gathering systems, processing plants, pipelines, storage facilities and water-handling infrastructure. These facilities connect oil and gas producers with downstream markets and are generally supported by long-term commercial arrangements.