Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $26.21 and last traded at $25.91, with a volume of 82482 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAGP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. US Capital Advisors cut Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Plains GP from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.36.

Plains GP Trading Down 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $24.53 and its 200 day moving average is $23.06. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 48.77 and a beta of 0.45.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 172.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 314,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,018,000 after acquiring an additional 84,042 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Plains GP by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 835,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,998,000 after purchasing an additional 105,448 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in Plains GP by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,421,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,514,000 after purchasing an additional 291,397 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Plains GP by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 266,276 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 73,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,829,953 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,165,000 after purchasing an additional 163,094 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.