Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $28.95 and last traded at $27.55, with a volume of 1341 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAGP has been the subject of several analyst reports. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Plains GP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Plains GP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.55.

Plains GP Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 52.39 and a beta of 0.48.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $0.4175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAGP. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 1.4% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 8,974,776 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $217,908,000 after buying an additional 120,765 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Plains GP by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,865,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $93,818,000 after buying an additional 112,893 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Plains GP by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,854,795 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $69,291,000 after acquiring an additional 147,603 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,421,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,514,000 after acquiring an additional 291,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 1,223,144 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $23,411,000 after acquiring an additional 18,352 shares in the last quarter. 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) is a publicly traded holding company that owns interests in Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA), an energy infrastructure partnership. Plains GP Holdings generally conducts its activities through its ownership and governance interests in PAA rather than through a separate operating business.

Through PAA, the company is involved in the transportation, storage, gathering, terminaling and logistics of crude oil and natural gas liquids. Its infrastructure includes pipelines, storage facilities, gathering systems, rail and truck facilities, and export and terminal assets that support the movement of energy commodities from production areas to refineries, processing facilities and other markets.

Plains’ operations primarily serve the United States and Canada, with significant infrastructure in major North American crude oil and NGL producing and consuming regions.