Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Price Target Raised to $18.00 at Citigroup

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $17.50 to $18.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Plains GP from $14.50 to $16.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on Plains GP in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a sector outperform rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Plains GP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $19.64.

Plains GP Stock Performance

PAGP stock opened at $18.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 1.53. Plains GP has a 12-month low of $13.09 and a 12-month high of $19.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.85.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.88 billion. Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 0.35%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Plains GP will post 1.05 EPS for the current year.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 144.32%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 88.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,772,217 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $60,167,000 after buying an additional 1,774,438 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Plains GP by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,645,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $74,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,120 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,958,406 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $79,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,884 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 2,927,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $47,185,000 after buying an additional 851,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 97.8% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 1,452,776 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $23,114,000 after buying an additional 718,465 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.