Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.75.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.79. 467,545 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 834,190. Western Midstream Partners has a fifty-two week low of $26.49 and a fifty-two week high of $42.80. The company has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 2.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $905.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.94 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 44.01% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The company's revenue was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Midstream Partners news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,967,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 174.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 417,302 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $14,835,000 after buying an additional 265,143 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 3.2% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,418,703 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $50,435,000 after acquiring an additional 44,176 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the second quarter worth $516,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 103,883 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $4,127,000 after acquiring an additional 24,072 shares in the last quarter. 42.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.