Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Price Target Increased to $18.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $17.50 to $18.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on PAGP. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Plains GP from $14.50 to $16.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.60.

Plains GP Stock Performance

NYSE PAGP opened at $18.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.98. Plains GP has a 52-week low of $13.09 and a 52-week high of $19.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.16 and a 200-day moving average of $16.83.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.06). Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 0.35%. The firm had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.88 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Plains GP will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 144.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PFG Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Plains GP by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 50,001 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 28,124 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 918,450 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $16,762,000 after acquiring an additional 292,574 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,712,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $31,259,000 after acquiring an additional 344,303 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 3,286.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 22,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 21,690 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.