Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $26.85 and last traded at $26.80, with a volume of 1387811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAGP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Plains GP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Plains GP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Plains GP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.55.

Plains GP Trading Up 0.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.64 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is 59.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Plains GP by 25.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Plains GP by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,407,809 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $65,225,000 after acquiring an additional 58,003 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Plains GP by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,752,707 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $91,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,738,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in Plains GP by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 8,974,776 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $217,908,000 after acquiring an additional 120,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

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.