Stifel Nicolaus Raises Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Price Target to $22.00

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Plains GP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Plains GP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Plains GP in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a sector outperform rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.55.

Plains GP Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE PAGP opened at $18.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.57. Plains GP has a 12 month low of $12.59 and a 12 month high of $19.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.06). Plains GP had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.33%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.88 billion. On average, analysts expect that Plains GP will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGP. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 3,286.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 14.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,543,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,162,000 after purchasing an additional 190,700 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the first quarter worth approximately $697,000. Finally, True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the first quarter worth approximately $1,096,000. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.