Barclays PLC Trims Stock Position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Barclays PLC decreased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 44.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 767,115 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 611,250 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.20% of Western Midstream Partners worth $29,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WES. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 996,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $38,108,000 after purchasing an additional 60,603 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 293.1% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 29,878 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,143,000 after buying an additional 22,277 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 322.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 406,587 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $15,556,000 after buying an additional 310,260 shares in the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 5.4% during the third quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 1,465,706 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $56,078,000 after buying an additional 75,145 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at about $516,000. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:WES traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.76. 911,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52-week low of $27.44 and a 52-week high of $42.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.90. The company's 50 day moving average price is $38.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.90.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.09). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 42.99% and a return on equity of 46.02%. The company had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $924.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is 89.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WES shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. US Capital Advisors upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners Company Profile

Western Midstream Partners, LP, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a midstream energy company primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.