Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES - Free Report) by 39.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,612 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 11,996 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of Western Midstream Partners stock opened at $41.15 on Friday. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $40.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.16. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a 52 week low of $31.60 and a 52 week high of $43.33. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 2.88.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.875 dividend. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Western Midstream Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.29%.

Western Midstream Partners 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.

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