Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Reaches New 52-Week High at $19.79

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $19.79 and last traded at $19.76, with a volume of 322401 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Plains GP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Plains GP from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Plains GP in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.82.

Plains GP Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.50.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.72 billion. Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 0.35%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.41%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 144.32%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Plains GP by 7.1% during the second quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 644.7% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 154,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,828,000 after acquiring an additional 134,153 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Plains GP by 249.4% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 12,284 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 8,768 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 176,647 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. 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.