Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Plains GP Stock Performance

PAGP opened at $21.61 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.28 and its 200 day moving average is $19.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.77 and a beta of 1.55. Plains GP has a 12-month low of $17.17 and a 12-month high of $22.31.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.03%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 286.79%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Plains GP by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 8,120.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Plains GP in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 1,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Plains GP

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.