Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.48 and last traded at $27.16, with a volume of 1246853 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Plains GP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. US Capital Advisors downgraded Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.55.

Plains GP Stock Down 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 52.89 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.23.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were given a $0.4175 dividend. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,113 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Diesslin Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diesslin Group Inc. now owns 82,841 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,011,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,133 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,105 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

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.