Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Shares Up 5.2% Following Dividend Announcement

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)’s stock price traded up 5.2% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $19.80 and last traded at $19.75. 262,299 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,155,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.78.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.60%. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 149.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PAGP shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.11.

Plains GP Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Plains GP in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth $76,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 10.0% during the 3rd 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. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the 3rd quarter valued at $188,000. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new stake in Plains GP in the third quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

About Plains GP

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.