Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.60.

PAGP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGP. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Plains GP by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $151,047,000 after buying an additional 1,629,008 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Plains GP by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,513,005 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $229,989,000 after purchasing an additional 927,855 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Plains GP in the third quarter valued at $13,848,000. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 781.8% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 772,966 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $14,207,000 after purchasing an additional 685,307 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Plains GP by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,152,201 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $113,077,000 after buying an additional 646,130 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Plains GP Stock Performance

NYSE PAGP opened at $21.73 on Thursday. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $16.77 and a fifty-two week high of $22.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.17.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.99%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 286.80%.

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.