Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Downgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $19.00 target price on the pipeline company's stock, down from their prior target price of $22.00. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.03% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on PAGP. StockNews.com cut Plains GP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.00.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of Plains GP stock traded down $0.28 on Friday, reaching $17.92. 3,075,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,737,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59 and a beta of 1.53. The firm's 50 day moving average is $18.73 and its 200-day moving average is $18.65. Plains GP has a one year low of $14.93 and a one year high of $20.10.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.11). Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.09% and a net margin of 0.33%. The business had revenue of $12.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Plains GP will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAGP. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Plains GP in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 61.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 35.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,791 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Plains GP in the second quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Plains GP Company Profile

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.