Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PAGP. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James raised their target price on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Plains GP has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Plains GP Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PAGP opened at $21.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60 and a beta of 1.55. Plains GP has a 1 year low of $17.17 and a 1 year high of $22.31. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.61.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 286.79%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aegis Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the fourth quarter worth approximately $310,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth about $166,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,072 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP during the 4th quarter valued at $1,751,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Plains GP by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,004,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $73,610,000 after acquiring an additional 19,900 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.