Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.1667.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAGP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Barclays cut their price target on Plains GP from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research raised Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Plains GP from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 18th.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGP. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Plains GP by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,117,959 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $196,592,000 after buying an additional 247,365 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Plains GP by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,832,780 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $161,110,000 after buying an additional 494,259 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Plains GP by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 291,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,661,000 after buying an additional 125,169 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Plains GP by 0.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,220,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $111,518,000 after buying an additional 29,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its stake in Plains GP by 1.2% during the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 3,585,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $65,390,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Price Performance

PAGP stock opened at $19.83 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.64. Plains GP has a 52-week low of $16.60 and a 52-week high of $22.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.42 and a beta of 0.56.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.4175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 179.57%.

Plains GP Company Profile

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.