Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Receives $37.88 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.88.

Several brokerages recently commented on WES. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, December 9th. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Western Midstream Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

NYSE:WES traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.36. 2,810,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,899. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The firm has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.90. Western Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $27.44 and a twelve month high of $42.80. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.47 and its 200-day moving average is $38.97.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 46.02% and a net margin of 42.99%. The company had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 287.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 63.9% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% 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.