Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James upped their target price on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Plains GP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.60.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of PAGP stock opened at $20.69 on Monday. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $16.26 and a fifty-two week high of $22.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.10.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 178.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cinctive Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 1,043,206 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $19,174,000 after buying an additional 50,868 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 44,260 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 15,973 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 497.7% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 16,549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 13,780 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 6,152,201 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $113,077,000 after buying an additional 646,130 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 139.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 328,454 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,546,000 after buying an additional 191,549 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., 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.