Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $42.93 and last traded at $42.72, with a volume of 452634 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WES shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Western Midstream Partners in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Midstream Partners from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.88.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.74 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 company had revenue of $883.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 4.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Midstream Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WES. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 287.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $74,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in Western Midstream Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 16.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.