Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA) Hits New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Shares of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (NYSE:PAA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $19.66 and last traded at $19.35, with a volume of 4173325 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PAA shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Plains All American Pipeline in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Plains All American Pipeline in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Plains All American Pipeline in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Plains All American Pipeline from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Plains All American Pipeline from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.92.

Plains All American Pipeline Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $17.71 and its 200 day moving average is $17.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 1.64.

Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.09 billion. Plains All American Pipeline had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Plains All American Pipeline Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Plains All American Pipeline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.54%. Plains All American Pipeline's payout ratio is currently 113.39%.

Institutional Trading of Plains All American Pipeline

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Plains All American Pipeline during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains All American Pipeline by 53.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 3,795 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains All American Pipeline by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 4,460 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Plains All American Pipeline by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,094 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. 41.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Plains All American Pipeline

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage, and gathering of crude oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States and Canada. The company operates through two segments, Crude Oil and NGL. The Crude Oil segment offers gathering and transporting crude oil through pipelines, gathering systems, trucks, and on barges or railcars.