Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Plains GP from $14.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $20.11.

Plains GP Stock Performance

PAGP stock opened at $18.67 on Monday. Plains GP has a 1-year low of $14.71 and a 1-year high of $20.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $18.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.11). Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 0.35%. The firm had revenue of $12.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Plains GP will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,645,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $74,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,120 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in Plains GP by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,452,776 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $23,114,000 after buying an additional 718,465 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in Plains GP by 6.4% during the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 11,666,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $219,572,000 after buying an additional 703,158 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,442,000. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,849,000. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Plains GP Company Profile

Plains GP Holdings, L.P., through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., owns and operates midstream infrastructure systems in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). The company engages in the gathering and transporting crude oil and NGLs using pipelines, gathering systems, and trucks.