Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,180,000 shares, a decline of 16.2% from the November 30th total of 6,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on WES shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 2nd quarter worth $74,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners in the third quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 63.9% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.82% of the company’s stock.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WES stock traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $39.06. 217,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,234,640. Western Midstream Partners has a twelve month low of $27.49 and a twelve month high of $42.80. 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 has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 2.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.01.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $883.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. Western Midstream Partners had a return on equity of 46.02% and a net margin of 42.99%. Western Midstream Partners’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Midstream Partners will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.96%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

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.