Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Shares Up 3.7% – Time to Buy?

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)’s share price traded up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.68 and last traded at $40.35. 1,290,748 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 1,406,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WES shares. US Capital Advisors upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.43.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.53 and a 200-day moving average of $39.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.88.

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.875 per share. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is 86.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WES. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 287.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,053 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 88.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 26,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 81.0% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 746,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,564,000 after purchasing an additional 334,187 shares in the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.