Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Separately, TheStreet raised shares of Pembina Pipeline from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pembina Pipeline currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $50.33.

Pembina Pipeline Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBA opened at $34.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.42. Pembina Pipeline has a 12-month low of $28.15 and a 12-month high of $36.17. The firm has a market cap of $19.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.34. Pembina Pipeline had a net margin of 19.43% and a return on equity of 13.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Pembina Pipeline will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Pembina Pipeline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.4944 dividend. This is a positive change from Pembina Pipeline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.74%. Pembina Pipeline’s payout ratio is currently 89.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PBA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 1.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,388 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Pembina Pipeline by 0.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 575,920 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,655,000 after acquiring an additional 3,604 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Pembina Pipeline by 53.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,699 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 13,820 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Pembina Pipeline by 8.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,446 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,252 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 6,629 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.37% of the company’s stock.

Pembina Pipeline Company Profile

Pembina Pipeline Corporation provides energy transportation and midstream services. It operates through three segments: Pipelines, Facilities, and Marketing & New Ventures. The Pipelines segment operates conventional, oil sands and heavy oil, and transmission assets with a transportation capacity of 2.9 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day, the ground storage capacity of 10 millions of barrels, and rail terminalling capacity of approximately 105 thousands of barrels of oil equivalent per day serving markets and basins across North America.