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

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $20.63 and last traded at $20.46, with a volume of 433436 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PAGP shares. StockNews.com upgraded Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.11.

Plains GP Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 1.58.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 178.82%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Plains GP during the 2nd quarter valued at about $566,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Plains GP by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 55,184 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Plains GP by 44.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 40,758 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 12,609 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Plains GP by 130.6% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 28,328 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 16,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 259,495 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Plains GP

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.