7,096 Shares in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Bought by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,096 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 29.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 98,215 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after buying an additional 22,380 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 357,912 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,746,000 after buying an additional 48,962 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 1.6% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 26,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 4.9% during the third quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 1,390,561 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,865,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research raised Western Midstream Partners from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.09.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

NYSE WES opened at $35.50 on Thursday. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a one year low of $25.04 and a one year high of $36.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.96 and a 200 day moving average of $30.86. The company has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $858.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $850.23 million. Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 32.72% and a return on equity of 33.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. This is an increase from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Western Midstream Partners’s payout ratio is currently 134.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Midstream Partners

In other news, Director Lisa A. Stewart purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,071,555.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Lisa A. Stewart acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.87 per share, for a total transaction of $87,175.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 30,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,071,555.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kenneth F. Owen acquired 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.96 per share, with a total value of $237,720.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 32,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,111,510.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate 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.