Investors Purchase High Volume of Plains GP Call Options (NYSE:PAGP)

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 114,858 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,573% compared to the typical volume of 6,865 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plains GP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.36.

Plains GP Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE PAGP opened at $26.33 on Friday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $16.68 and a fifty-two week high of $26.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a PE ratio of 49.68 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.47.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.4175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is 172.16%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in Plains GP by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 314,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,018,000 after purchasing an additional 84,042 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,421,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,514,000 after purchasing an additional 291,397 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 266,276 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 73,248 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 835,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,998,000 after purchasing an additional 105,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,829,953 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,165,000 after buying an additional 163,094 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Plains GP

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.