Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Rating Lowered by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $20.00 price objective on the pipeline company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $22.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Plains GP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.88.

Plains GP Trading Down 3.5 %

PAGP traded down $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,411,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,717,177. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. Plains GP has a 12-month low of $15.51 and a 12-month high of $20.10. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.57. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.72.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio is 149.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Plains GP in the third quarter worth approximately $13,848,000. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings 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 worth $219,572,000 after purchasing an additional 703,158 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Plains GP during the second quarter worth $11,442,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Plains GP during the third quarter valued at about $9,772,000. Finally, SIR Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Plains GP during the second quarter valued at about $8,849,000. Hedge funds and other 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.