Mizuho Increases Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Price Target to $39.00

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) had its target price hoisted by Mizuho from $34.00 to $39.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

WES has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research raised Western Midstream Partners from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $31.09.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WES opened at $35.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 2.82. Western Midstream Partners has a 52 week low of $25.04 and a 52 week high of $36.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.92 and its 200-day moving average is $30.82. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). Western Midstream Partners had a net margin of 32.72% and a return on equity of 33.58%. The company had revenue of $858.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $850.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.83%. This is a boost from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 134.62%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Midstream Partners news, Director Lisa A. Stewart bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.87 per share, with a total value of $87,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,071,555.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Lisa A. Stewart bought 2,500 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.87 per share, with a total value of $87,175.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 30,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,071,555.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth F. Owen acquired 7,000 shares of Western Midstream Partners stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.96 per share, with a total value of $237,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 32,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,111,510.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the third quarter worth about $27,000. American National Bank lifted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 34.5% in the first quarter. American National Bank now owns 1,190 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 40.2% during the first quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

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.