Traders Purchase Large Volume of Plains GP Call Options (NYSE:PAGP)

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 10,187 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 685% compared to the average volume of 1,297 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 10.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,990 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. SL Advisors LLC raised its position in Plains GP by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. SL Advisors LLC now owns 21,282 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Plains GP by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 74,783 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Plains GP by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Plains GP by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 59,998 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAGP. Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Plains GP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.22.

Plains GP Stock Down 0.3 %

PAGP traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,601,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,164,263. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21 and a beta of 1.58. Plains GP has a 12 month low of $15.78 and a 12 month high of $21.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $19.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.89.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from Plains GP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Plains GP's payout ratio is currently 149.41%.

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.