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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Plains GP Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PAGP opened at $21.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Plains GP has a 1 year low of $17.17 and a 1 year high of $22.31. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.61.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. This is a boost from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 286.79%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 17.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 93,643 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC purchased a new position in Plains GP during the 4th quarter valued at about $265,000. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in Plains GP by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $151,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,008 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 78,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Plains GP by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 35,812 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 21,146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.