Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $26.68 and last traded at $26.5950, with a volume of 207443 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $26.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PAGP. Barclays raised their price target on Plains GP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Plains GP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $18.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. US Capital Advisors cut shares of Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.36.

Plains GP Stock Down 0.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.15 and a beta of 0.45.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 172.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PAGP. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,752,707 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $91,116,000 after buying an additional 1,738,351 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 227.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 2,055,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,743 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 46.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,446,983 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,393,000 after purchasing an additional 456,426 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 510.6% during the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 519,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,945,000 after purchasing an additional 434,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 25.8% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,421,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,514,000 after purchasing an additional 291,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Company Profile

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.