Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Purchases 7,105 Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,634 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,105 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC owned about 0.09% of Plains GP worth $3,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAGP. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its position in Plains GP by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $151,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,008 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the third quarter valued at approximately $13,848,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Plains GP in the third quarter worth approximately $9,772,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP in the third quarter worth $4,013,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in Plains GP by 114.8% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 370,496 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,810,000 after buying an additional 198,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plains GP Stock Down 4.4 %

NYSE:PAGP opened at $21.15 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88 and a beta of 1.58. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1-year low of $15.78 and a 1-year high of $22.31.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.21). Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.12% and a net margin of 0.33%. The business had revenue of $12.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 178.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAGP. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. Raymond James upped their target price on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.60.

Plains GP 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.