Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at US Capital Advisors

US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. StockNews.com lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WES opened at $38.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.88. Western Midstream Partners has a 1 year low of $26.81 and a 1 year high of $42.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. Western Midstream Partners’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.03%. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is 89.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Western Midstream Partners by 26.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at $166,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at about $409,000. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter worth about $765,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6,986.8% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 708,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,114,000 after buying an additional 698,683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.94% 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.