Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its target price boosted by analysts at Barclays from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential downside of 11.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PAGP. StockNews.com raised shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.22.

Plains GP Stock Performance

Shares of PAGP stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $21.37. 2,076,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,692. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Plains GP has a 12-month low of $15.78 and a 12-month high of $21.48. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAGP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Plains GP during the 2nd quarter valued at $566,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 6.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,276,398 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $24,025,000 after acquiring an additional 80,993 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 77,293 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,494,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Plains GP by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,393,558 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $101,507,000 after purchasing an additional 113,098 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.