Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Position in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. $PAGP

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. by 16.0% in the first quarter, now holding 954,411 shares worth approximately $20.4 million.
• Plains GP's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with an average target price of $20.88, and the company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.
• The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, indicating a stable financial position.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 954,411 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,363 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Plains GP worth $20,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAGP. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 42.9% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,190,610 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $89,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258,315 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 2.0% during the first quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 4,033,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $86,145,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Plains GP by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,004,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $73,610,000 after buying an additional 19,900 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Plains GP by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,333,055 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $71,194,000 after buying an additional 165,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 25.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,563,031 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $54,746,000 after buying an additional 526,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Plains GP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Plains GP from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Plains GP in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Plains GP Price Performance

Plains GP stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.24. 1,721,260 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,679,721. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.47. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30 and a beta of 0.70. 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 Holdings, L.P. has a 12-month low of $16.60 and a 12-month high of $22.31.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 220.29%.

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.