Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $40.00 target price on the pipeline company's stock, down from their previous target price of $42.00. Morgan Stanley's target price indicates a potential upside of 3.95% from the company's current price.

WES has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America started coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.13.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE WES traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,082,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,789. The firm's 50 day moving average is $38.64 and its 200 day moving average is $38.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. 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 capitalization of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.87.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $905.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.94 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 47.19% and a net margin of 44.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares in the company, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,711 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 48,760 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,937,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Belfer Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 9,957 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 22,508 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. 42.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.