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WES·Western Midstream Partners, LP

$47.24
-0.64 (-1.34%)
High
$48.13
Open
$47.85
Market Cap
20.26B
52W High
$50.07
Low
$47.03
P. Close
$47.24
P/E
15.78
52W Low
$36.75
Fwd P/E
12.38
DailyIQ Est.
$49.37
Inst. Ownership
17.7%
Short Interest
1.48%
Days to Cover
10.2
Technical Score (1D)
50
NEUTRAL
News Sentiment
69
BULLISH
Western Midstream’s latest earnings guidance shows a Q4 EPS forecast of $0.89 and revenue of $1.2 billion, up 25.5% YoY, with full‑year estimates of $3.66 EPS and $4.67 billion revenue, indicating a modest upside over last year’s figures. The company’s stock has risen ahead of the earnings release, but earlier reports noted a decline, suggesting short‑term volatility that may be resolved once results are announced. Analysts at Stifel, RBC, and Morgan Stanley have all upgraded WES to a Buy or Equal‑Weight rating and lifted price targets to $55, $47, and $55 respectively, reflecting confidence in the pipeline portfolio and expected cash‑flow growth. The guidance hike is driven by stronger‑than‑expected Q2 earnings, a 30% revenue jump to $1.22 billion, and record natural‑gas throughput in the Delaware Basin, which supports higher commodity pricing. The company’s recent acquisition of the Brazos Delaware Basin and the planned Pathfinder produced‑water pipeline are expected to deliver 15‑20% returns once online, adding to the upside. In the next 1–10 trading days, traders should monitor the earnings release for confirmation of the revised guidance and any updates on the integration of the Brazos acquisition and the Pathfinder pipeline. Additionally, the 7.5% equity stake in the Solitude Pipeline System JV, which will provide firm capacity from the Permian Basin, could influence throughput and revenue once the project begins operation. Finally, the insider purchase by board member Frederick Forthuber may signal confidence, but its impact on short‑term liquidity remains uncertain until further corporate actions are disclosed.
Earnings Summary
Western Midstream Partners, LP is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides critical infrastructure services for gathering, processing, and transporting natural gas, NGLs, condensate, and crude oil, with a strong presence in Texas, New Mexico, and the Rocky Mountains. The company operates in the oil & gas midstream sector, a segment that benefits from long‑term take‑or‑pay contracts and pipeline expansion. In Q4 2024, WES reported EPS of $0.8782, essentially flat against the $0.87826 estimate, while revenue reached $928.5 million, a modest increase from prior periods. The following year’s Q4 2025 EPS fell to $0.47 against an estimate of $0.8613, and revenue of $1.03148 billion was slightly below the $1.06435 billion estimate, indicating a slowdown in earnings momentum. In contrast, Q2 2026 EPS rebounded to $0.99 versus an estimate of $0.877, and revenue surged to $1.22472 billion against an estimate of $1.11086 billion, showing a clear acceleration in both top‑line and bottom‑line performance. Historically, WES has delivered year‑over‑year revenue growth, with recent quarters reflecting a pattern of revenue expansion even when EPS has been volatile, as seen in the 2025 Q4 miss and 2026 Q2 beat. The company’s earnings trajectory has been punctuated by strategic acquisitions and operational efficiencies, which have helped sustain margin growth. Recent news highlights the Brazos Delaware Basin acquisition, higher crude prices, and improved system performance, all of which contributed to a lift in 2026 guidance and a 19% year‑over‑year EBITDA jump. Analysts have raised price targets and upgraded ratings, underscoring confidence in the company’s earnings potential. Investors should watch for the next earnings release to gauge the commissioning schedule of the Pathfinder produced‑water pipeline, the integration progress of the Brazos acquisition, and any updates on take‑or‑pay contract performance, as these factors will be key to confirming the higher guidance and sustaining the recent upside.

EPS

EstBeatMiss
$0.39$0.56$0.73$0.90$1.07Q4'24Q4'25Q2'26Q3'26
QtrEstActual+/−
Q3'26$0.89 - -
Q2'26$0.88$0.99+12.9%
Q4'25$0.86$0.47-45.4%
Q4'24$0.88$0.88-0.0%

Revenue

EstBeatMiss
$884M$980M$1.1B$1.2B$1.3BQ4'24Q4'25Q2'26Q3'26
QtrEstActual+/−
Q3'26$1.2B - -
Q2'26$1.1B$1.2B+10.3%
Q4'25$1.1B$1.0B-3.1%
Q4'24 - $929M -
Full Earnings BreakdownEstimates, actuals, guidance, and historical context
→

Market Data

WES Stock Snapshot

HOLD50/100
$47.24−$0.64 (1.3%)
Market cap
20.26B
P/E ratio
15.8
Day range
$47.03 – $48.13
News sentiment
69/100 · Bullish
Analyst target
$49.17 (+4.1%)
Consensus
Hold · 20 analysts
52-week range+28.5% off low · -5.7% from high
$36.75$50.07
Price $47.24 DailyIQ Est. $49.37

This is a pause rather than a turn for WES - the signals are mixed by construction. Sector peers are worth watching - large caps in Energy tend to move together on rotation.

Reverse DCF

What growth is priced into WES?

CHEAP

At today's price, Western Midstream Partners, LP needs to grow free cash flow about -3.1% a year for the next 10 years to justify its valuation at a 7.05% cost of capital. Over its actual history it has compounded free cash flow at 22.8% a year, so the market is asking for 26.0 percentage points below its own delivered rate. On that basis WES looks priced below what its own growth record supports.

Implied FCF growth
-3.1%
Historical FCF CAGR
22.8%
Growth gap
-26.0 pts
Verdict
CHEAP
Discount rate (WACC)
7.05%
Beta
0.64

Behaviour On Record

What WES's own history says about today's numbers

Realized volatility (21d)
17.4% 8th pct
Below its peak
-27.7%
vs 200-day average
+9.5%
Up days (1y)
55%

Western Midstream Partners, LP is currently running 17.4% annualised volatility over the last 21 sessions. Measured against WES's own 13 years of daily returns rather than a market-wide average, that is the 8th percentile — unusually subdued by its own history, against a typical reading of 28.8%. The distinction matters because a number that looks calm for one stock is turbulent for another, and the absolute figure on its own tells you neither.

WES is trading -27.7% below its running peak. Across 12 full years on file, its median worst-drawdown-in-a-year was -25.6%, and the deepest was -85.8% in 2020. The current drawdown is already deeper than this stock's typical annual low point, which puts it in the part of its range where past recoveries began — and where past declines also continued.

Price sits +9.5% from its 200-day moving average. Against every other day in its history, that gap ranks at the 73rd percentile — a somewhat wider gap than its own norm. Over the past year WES closed higher on 55% of sessions, and it is currently 2 sessions into a falling streak.

On September specifically: over 14 years of records, WES finished the month higher 9 of 14 times, with a median return of +1.3% and an average of -0.9%. Its strongest month historically has been April at +14.5% on average, its weakest March at -4.7%. Seasonality is a weak signal on its own — a decade is a small sample and regimes change — but it is a real distribution rather than a rule of thumb.

Overnight risk is measurable too: WES has opened more than 2% away from the prior close in 295 of 3,268 sessions (9.0% of the time), with the largest gaps running +19.1% and -10.5%. For anyone holding through an event, that rate is a better guide to overnight exposure than the intraday range.

All figures computed from 3,269 daily closes between 2013-09-16 and 2026-09-15, split-adjusted, recomputed daily. Percentiles are against WES's own 13-year history, not a peer group or index.

Sector Rotation

Is money rotating into or out of WES's sector?

Western Midstream Partners, LP sits in the Industrials sector, currently ranked 11th of 11 GICS sectors by relative-strength rotation score (lagging).

Sector rank
#11 of 11
Sector state
Lagging
Sector rotation score
10

Options Market

What is the options market pricing for WES?

CallsPuts

For Western Midstream Partners, LP's nearest expiry (2026-09-18, 3 days out), open interest is call-heavy, a bullish tilt (put/call ratio of 0.46), with at-the-money implied volatility around 36.8%. The options market is pricing roughly a ±3.2% move by that expiry — a range of about $45.85–$48.93.

Put/call ratio (2026-09-18)
0.46
ATM implied volatility
36.8%
Total open interest
6,307
Expected move by 2026-09-18
±3.2% ($45.85–$48.93)

Analyst Rating Changes

Are analysts turning bullish or bearish on WES?

RBC Capital most recently reiterated its rating on Western Midstream Partners, LP to Sector Perform on Aug 24, 2026 with a price target of $47 (from $41). Over the last 90 days, coverage has run 0 upgrades against 0 downgrades, a net mixed lean.

Latest action
RBC Capital — Sector Perform
90-day upgrades
0
90-day downgrades
0
Net rating momentum
0
DateFirmActionRatingPrice target
Aug 24, 2026RBC CapitalMaintainedSector Perform$41 → $47
Aug 18, 2026Morgan StanleyMaintainedEqual-Weight$51 → $55
Aug 11, 2026CitigroupMaintainedNeutral$42 → $45
Aug 10, 2026Wells FargoMaintainedEqual-Weight$43 → $46
Jul 14, 2026JP MorganMaintainedNeutral$46 → $47
Jul 14, 2026MizuhoMaintainedOutperform$48 → $51
Jul 10, 2026UBSMaintainedNeutral$45 → $48
Jun 10, 2026Morgan StanleyUpgradeUnderweight → Equal-Weight$51
May 27, 2026Morgan StanleyMaintainedUnderweight$41 → $51
May 21, 2026UBSMaintainedNeutral$40 → $45
May 13, 2026Wells FargoMaintainedEqual-Weight$41 → $43
May 12, 2026CitigroupMaintainedNeutral$39 → $42

WES Competitive Positioning

Western Midstream Partners, LP (WES) is tracked alongside these names in Oil & Gas Midstream on DailyIQ — ranked by market cap, with today's move alongside.