Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

PAGP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley cut Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Plains GP Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PAGP traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $17.20. 1,740,545 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,736,264. Plains GP has a 52 week low of $14.93 and a 52 week high of $20.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.60.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Plains GP by 6.4% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 11,666,947 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $219,572,000 after acquiring an additional 703,158 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 3.6% in the second quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 6,615,106 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $124,496,000 after purchasing an additional 232,644 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 2.1% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,393,558 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $101,507,000 after purchasing an additional 113,098 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 1.2% in the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 4,373,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $80,900,000 after purchasing an additional 53,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 18.1% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,822,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,294,000 after purchasing an additional 279,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.