Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 160,093 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 3,753 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Western Midstream Partners were worth $6,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WES. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Western Midstream Partners by 42.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 108,367 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,146,000 after acquiring an additional 32,119 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 996,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $38,108,000 after purchasing an additional 60,603 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 293.1% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 29,878 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 22,277 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Western Midstream Partners by 322.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 406,587 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,556,000 after purchasing an additional 310,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Western Midstream Partners by 60.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,785,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $68,298,000 after purchasing an additional 670,440 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Up 0.5 %

WES stock opened at $41.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.39. Western Midstream Partners, LP has a twelve month low of $33.64 and a twelve month high of $43.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.88. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.38%. Western Midstream Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Western Midstream Partners from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.43.

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.