Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $19.00 price objective on the pipeline company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $22.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PAGP. StockNews.com cut shares of Plains GP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Plains GP to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Plains GP Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE PAGP opened at $17.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Plains GP has a 12-month low of $14.93 and a 12-month high of $20.10. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.71 and a 200 day moving average of $18.63.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.11). Plains GP had a net margin of 0.33% and a return on equity of 1.09%. The company had revenue of $12.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Plains GP will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 144.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Plains GP by 644.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 154,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,828,000 after buying an additional 134,153 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 1st quarter worth about $1,669,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 1st quarter worth about $697,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Plains GP by 25.2% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,712,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,259,000 after purchasing an additional 344,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Plains GP by 82.7% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 921,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $16,817,000 after purchasing an additional 417,031 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.