Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Price Target Raised to $23.00

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on PAGP. StockNews.com lowered Plains GP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research raised Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of PAGP opened at $21.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.49 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Plains GP has a 1 year low of $17.17 and a 1 year high of $22.31.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.08%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 286.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Plains GP in the fourth quarter worth about $310,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Plains GP in the fourth quarter valued at $166,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 424,072 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,794,000 after acquiring an additional 1,997 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,751,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,004,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $73,610,000 after acquiring an additional 19,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings, L.P., through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., owns and operates midstream infrastructure systems in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). The company engages in the gathering and transporting crude oil and NGLs using pipelines, gathering systems, and trucks.