Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday morning.

PAGP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James raised their price target on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

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Plains GP Stock Performance

Shares of PAGP traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,957,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,689. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 38.96 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.73. Plains GP has a one year low of $17.17 and a one year high of $22.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.36%. This is an increase from Plains GP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Plains GP's payout ratio is currently 286.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 57,596 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Plains GP during the third quarter worth about $222,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Plains GP by 13.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 687,257 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $12,714,000 after purchasing an additional 78,845 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Plains GP by 17.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $11,857,000 after buying an additional 93,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Plains GP in the 3rd quarter valued at about $188,000. 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.