Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Boosts Holdings in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,535,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 34,894 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY owned about 0.78% of Plains GP worth $28,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Plains GP by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 235,331 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1,430.7% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 19,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 17,798 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Plains GP in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in Plains GP by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 4,373,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $80,900,000 after acquiring an additional 53,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PAGP. StockNews.com raised shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research raised Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.60.

Plains GP Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of PAGP stock opened at $20.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.85 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.09. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a twelve month low of $15.78 and a twelve month high of $22.31.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $12.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.17 billion. Plains GP had a net margin of 0.33% and a return on equity of 1.12%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.33%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 178.82%.

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.