Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Plains GP in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Plains GP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Plains GP Price Performance

PAGP stock opened at $23.83 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.96 and a beta of 0.46. 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 50 day simple moving average of $24.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.28. Plains GP has a 1 year low of $16.68 and a 1 year high of $26.15.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 172.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Plains GP during the third quarter valued at $46,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP during the first quarter worth $56,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Plains GP by 36.5% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. O Domhnaill Enterprises Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the first quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.