Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered Western Midstream Partners from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.13.

Western Midstream Partners Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WES traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 844,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,233. Western Midstream Partners has a 12 month low of $26.49 and a 12 month high of $42.80. The stock has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.39.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $905.63 million for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Midstream Partners

In other Western Midstream Partners news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 1st quarter valued at $338,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 1.6% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 162,128 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Retirement Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 174.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 417,302 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $14,835,000 after purchasing an additional 265,143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company's stock.

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.

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