Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.36 and last traded at $24.3240, with a volume of 322400 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $24.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAGP. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Plains GP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Plains GP in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Plains GP has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

Plains GP Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.01 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.59.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is currently 129.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAGP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 468,314 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,003,000 after buying an additional 26,952 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Plains GP by 1.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 207,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 180.5% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 148,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,886,000 after acquiring an additional 95,583 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 3.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,649,726 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $51,483,000 after purchasing an additional 86,695 shares during the period. Finally, JRM Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. JRM Investment Counsel LLC now owns 219,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Plains GP

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.