Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Hits New 1-Year High at $18.18

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.18 and last traded at $18.17, with a volume of 84992 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $18.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PAGP shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.43.

Plains GP Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.88 billion. Plains GP had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.33%. As a group, analysts forecast that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Plains GP by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,445 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,538 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Plains GP by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,697 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.