Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Price Passes Below Fifty Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) shares passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.07 and traded as low as $23.05. Plains GP shares last traded at $23.35, with a volume of 986,429 shares.

PAGP has been the subject of several other research reports. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Plains GP from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in Plains GP by 1.0% during the third quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 10,196,673 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,987,000 after acquiring an additional 102,916 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,386,299 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $80,006,000 after purchasing an additional 66,695 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 86.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,752,707 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $91,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738,351 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 3,725,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $71,296,000 after purchasing an additional 140,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in Plains GP by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,407,809 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $65,225,000 after purchasing an additional 58,003 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Price Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.31.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 172.16%.

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.