Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

PAGP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James lifted their price target 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. Wolfe Research raised Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

Plains GP Stock Down 1.0 %

PAGP stock opened at $21.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.49 and a beta of 1.55. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $21.29 and a 200-day moving average of $19.64. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $17.17 and a fifty-two week high of $22.31.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 286.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Plains GP by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 8,120.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

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.