Stifel Nicolaus Raises Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Price Target to $22.00

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price target upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

PAGP has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Plains GP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Plains GP in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They set a sector outperform rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $14.50 to $16.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $19.55.

Plains GP Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE PAGP opened at $18.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 1.55. Plains GP has a 1 year low of $12.59 and a 1 year high of $19.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.73 and its 200 day moving average is $16.57.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.88 billion. Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.33% and a net margin of 0.41%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Plains GP will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is 124.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAGP. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 41.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,333,168 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $130,898,000 after purchasing an additional 3,318,007 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Plains GP by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,772,217 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $60,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774,438 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Plains GP by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,645,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $74,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,120 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Plains GP by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,958,406 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $79,930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Plains GP by 68.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,254,876 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322,722 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.