Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Given New $24.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PAGP. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America lowered shares of Plains GP from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho set a $23.00 target price on shares of Plains GP in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Plains GP has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.44.

Plains GP Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PAGP opened at $23.33 on Wednesday. Plains GP has a 12-month low of $16.60 and a 12-month high of $24.00. The company has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02 and a beta of 0.56. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.42.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 129.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 6.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 468,314 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,003,000 after purchasing an additional 26,952 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Plains GP by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,037 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Plains GP by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Plains GP by 1.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 207,126 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,024,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in Plains GP by 9.6% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,046,498 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,333,000 after buying an additional 92,087 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is 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.