Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $22.93 and last traded at $22.8460, with a volume of 199074 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAGP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho set a $23.00 target price on shares of Plains GP in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Plains GP from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Plains GP from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.63.

Plains GP Trading Up 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 43.20 and a beta of 0.57. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.02.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $0.4175 dividend. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Plains GP’s payout ratio is currently 129.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Plains GP by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,117,959 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $196,592,000 after purchasing an additional 247,365 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Plains GP during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,088,000. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Plains GP by 5.9% in the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,832,780 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $161,110,000 after acquiring an additional 494,259 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Plains GP by 75.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 291,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,661,000 after acquiring an additional 125,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Plains GP by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 800,863 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $14,608,000 after purchasing an additional 115,020 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE: PAGP) serves as the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., one of North America’s leading energy infrastructure companies. Through its ownership of a 2% general partner interest and incentive distribution rights (IDRs), Plains GP Holdings participates in the governance and cash distribution structure of a diversified portfolio of crude oil and natural gas liquids gathering, transportation, storage, and terminaling assets.

The company’s primary business activities include overseeing the strategic direction and capital allocation decisions for its affiliated midstream operations.