Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $20.95 and last traded at $20.67, with a volume of 1867379 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAGP. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research raised Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plains GP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.11.

Plains GP Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.84.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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 7.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 149.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $151,047,000 after buying an additional 1,629,008 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 3rd quarter valued at $13,848,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth $9,772,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Plains GP in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,734,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Plains GP in the third quarter valued at about $4,013,000. 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.