Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Plains GP to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.88.

Plains GP Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:PAGP traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,842,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,284. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.50 and a 200 day moving average of $18.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.54. Plains GP has a one year low of $14.93 and a one year high of $20.10.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.95%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 153.01%.

Institutional Trading of Plains GP

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAGP. SL Advisors LLC raised its stake in Plains GP by 3.3% in the third 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 raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Plains GP by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Plains GP by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,975 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Plains GP by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. 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.