Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $46.73 and last traded at $46.2760, with a volume of 730777 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Pembina Pipeline from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pembina Pipeline from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Pembina Pipeline from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.00.

Pembina Pipeline Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.07.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The pipeline company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. Pembina Pipeline had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 21.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Pembina Pipeline Corp. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Pembina Pipeline Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.735 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is a positive change from Pembina Pipeline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Pembina Pipeline’s dividend payout ratio is currently 109.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Pembina Pipeline in the 4th quarter valued at about $213,701,000. BCV Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,412,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,723,159 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $179,763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475,320 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Pembina Pipeline in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,514,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,620,307 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $329,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.37% of the company’s stock.

About Pembina Pipeline

Pembina Pipeline Corporation (NYSE: PBA) is a North American energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates midstream assets that transport, store and process hydrocarbons. Its core business focuses on the transportation of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and condensate, along with gas processing, fractionation, storage and related marketing services. Pembina serves producers, refiners and other energy companies by providing pipeline capacity, terminal services and midstream solutions that link upstream production to downstream markets and export facilities.

The company’s asset base is concentrated in Western Canada, including major operations in Alberta and British Columbia, and it also has operations and commercial activities that extend into the United States.