Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Shares Purchased by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its position in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,925 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Plains GP were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Plains GP by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 99,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 21,184 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the 4th quarter valued at $676,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP during the 4th quarter worth $308,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 114.8% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 370,496 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 198,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP in the 4th quarter valued at about $706,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PAGP opened at $21.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.98. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1-year low of $15.78 and a 1-year high of $22.31.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.21). Plains GP had a net margin of 0.33% and a return on equity of 1.12%. The firm had revenue of $12.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. Analysts forecast that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 149.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PAGP shares. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley cut Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.60.

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.