Morgan Stanley Lowers Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) to Equal Weight

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. They presently have a $19.00 price objective on the pipeline company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $22.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PAGP. Wolfe Research raised Plains GP to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Plains GP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Plains GP Trading Up 0.2 %

PAGP stock opened at $18.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Plains GP has a 1-year low of $14.93 and a 1-year high of $20.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.65.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.11). Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 0.33%. The firm had revenue of $12.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Plains GP will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the 1st quarter worth $697,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Plains GP by 35.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 3,286.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 22,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 21,690 shares in the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 1st quarter valued at $530,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Plains GP by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 167,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

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.