Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 58,015 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 29,637 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 983,685 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,783,000 after buying an additional 115,336 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 37,850 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 5,159 shares during the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC grew its position in Western Midstream Partners by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 322,010 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,422,000 after acquiring an additional 64,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Midstream Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $1,521,000. Institutional investors own 42.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Western Midstream Partners from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research upgraded Western Midstream Partners from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.09.

Western Midstream Partners Price Performance

Shares of WES stock opened at $35.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a twelve month low of $25.04 and a twelve month high of $36.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 2.82.

Western Midstream Partners (NYSE:WES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $858.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $850.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Western Midstream Partners, LP will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Midstream Partners Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is a boost from Western Midstream Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 134.62%.

Insider Transactions at Western Midstream Partners

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

Western Midstream Partners 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.