Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Lifted to Hold at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Plains GP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $20.11.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of PAGP stock opened at $18.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Plains GP has a 12 month low of $14.71 and a 12 month high of $20.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50 and a beta of 1.53.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $12.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 0.33%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Plains GP will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.71%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is 144.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Plains GP during the first quarter worth about $44,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 61.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 35.9% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Plains GP during the second quarter worth about $70,000. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings, L.P., through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., owns and operates midstream infrastructure systems in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). The company engages in the gathering and transporting crude oil and NGLs using pipelines, gathering systems, and trucks.