Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Sets New 1-Year High at $18.18

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.18 and last traded at $18.17, with a volume of 84992 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PAGP. Citigroup upped their price objective on Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.43.

Plains GP Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 1.55.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.06). Plains GP had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.33%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.88 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 124.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 55,354 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Plains GP by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Plains GP by 0.5% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 171,847 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC grew its position in Plains GP by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 24,937 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Plains GP by 63.2% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,538 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

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.