Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Price Passes Below 50-Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)’s share price crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.07 and traded as low as $23.05. Plains GP shares last traded at $23.35, with a volume of 986,429 shares.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PAGP. US Capital Advisors cut Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Plains GP from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Plains GP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAGP. North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Plains GP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. O Domhnaill Enterprises Inc. purchased a new stake in Plains GP in the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Plains GP by 36.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plains GP Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 172.16%.

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.