Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.43 and last traded at $22.23, with a volume of 1112538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAGP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Plains GP from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of Plains GP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.63.

Plains GP Stock Down 0.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.97. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.40 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $0.4175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 129.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 394.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,883 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Plains GP by 36.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Company Profile

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE: PAGP) serves as the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., one of North America’s leading energy infrastructure companies. Through its ownership of a 2% general partner interest and incentive distribution rights (IDRs), Plains GP Holdings participates in the governance and cash distribution structure of a diversified portfolio of crude oil and natural gas liquids gathering, transportation, storage, and terminaling assets.

The company’s primary business activities include overseeing the strategic direction and capital allocation decisions for its affiliated midstream operations.