Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Receives $20.38 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.4286.

PAGP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Plains GP from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Plains GP from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th.

Plains GP Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE PAGP opened at $18.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.64. Plains GP has a one year low of $16.60 and a one year high of $22.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 163.44%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAGP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,333,055 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $71,194,000 after purchasing an additional 165,863 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Plains GP by 44.0% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 10,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,073 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 105.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 152,504 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,257,000 after acquiring an additional 78,447 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 56.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 445,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,505,000 after acquiring an additional 161,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 25.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,563,031 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,746,000 after purchasing an additional 526,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.