Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $28.73 and last traded at $28.66, with a volume of 692,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PAGP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Plains GP from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Plains GP from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Plains GP in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased 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 Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Plains GP Trading Up 2.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.10 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.45.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1.4% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 8,974,776 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $217,908,000 after buying an additional 120,765 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Plains GP by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,231,288 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $161,390,000 after acquiring an additional 955,231 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Plains GP by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,865,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $93,818,000 after acquiring an additional 112,893 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Plains GP by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,854,795 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $69,291,000 after acquiring an additional 147,603 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp lifted its position in Plains GP by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Goodman Financial Corp now owns 818,027 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $19,862,000 after acquiring an additional 9,348 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) is a publicly traded holding company that owns and controls the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Through this ownership interest, Plains GP Holdings is linked to the operations of one of North America’s major midstream energy companies.

Plains All American Pipeline provides transportation, storage, terminalling, gathering, and other logistics services for crude oil and natural gas liquids. Its infrastructure includes pipelines, storage facilities, gathering systems, rail and truck terminals, and other assets used to move energy commodities from producing regions to refineries, processing facilities, and other markets.

The company’s operations primarily serve customers in the United States and Canada, with activity concentrated in key oil- and liquids-producing regions and connected transportation corridors.