Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 2,361,000 Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,493,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 2,361,000 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.66% of Western Midstream Partners worth $99,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WES. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the first quarter valued at $29,000. American National Bank boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 34.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,190 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% in the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.94% of the company's stock.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

WES traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.76. 653,301 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,236,744. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $26.14 and a one year high of $42.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.92.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $905.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is 98.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WES. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com cut Western Midstream Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut Western Midstream Partners from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Midstream Partners presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.75.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 165,681,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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.