Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Price

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) had its price objective lifted by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on PAGP. Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Plains GP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PAGP opened at $21.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.60 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.61. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $17.17 and a fifty-two week high of $22.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. This is a boost from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is 286.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Plains GP by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 8,120.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its position in Plains GP by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.