Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its holdings in Pembina Pipeline Corp. by 56.7%, now owning 14,467 shares valued at $579,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Pembina Pipeline recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5109, representing a 5.53% yield and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.48.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Pembina Pipeline, with three ratings at "hold," five at "buy," and one at "strong buy," reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.00.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lowered its holdings in Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA - Free Report) TSE: PPL by 56.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,467 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 18,946 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Pembina Pipeline were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Pembina Pipeline by 11.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,182 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 337,379 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,466,000 after buying an additional 58,366 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 445,057 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $17,816,000 after buying an additional 67,797 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Pembina Pipeline during the 4th quarter worth $459,000. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Pembina Pipeline in the first quarter valued at $16,221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.37% of the company's stock.

Pembina Pipeline Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBA traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $37.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 271,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,330,076. Pembina Pipeline Corp. has a 52-week low of $34.13 and a 52-week high of $43.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $37.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.23. Pembina Pipeline had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 23.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 48.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pembina Pipeline Corp. will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Pembina Pipeline Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.5109 per share. This is a boost from Pembina Pipeline's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Pembina Pipeline's dividend payout ratio is 93.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PBA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. National Bankshares upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Pembina Pipeline from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Pembina Pipeline from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.00.

About Pembina Pipeline

Pembina Pipeline Corporation provides energy transportation and midstream services. It operates through three segments: Pipelines, Facilities, and Marketing & New Ventures. The Pipelines segment operates conventional, oil sands and heavy oil, and transmission assets with a transportation capacity of 2.9 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day, the ground storage capacity of 10 millions of barrels, and rail terminalling capacity of approximately 105 thousands of barrels of oil equivalent per day serving markets and basins across North America.