Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Hits New 12-Month High at $18.18

Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.18 and last traded at $18.17, with a volume of 84992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAGP has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Plains GP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.43.

Plains GP Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.98 and a 200-day moving average of $16.28.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) last released 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). Plains GP had a return on equity of 1.33% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.88 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This is a boost from Plains GP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 124.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAGP. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Plains GP by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,772,217 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $60,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774,438 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,645,531 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $74,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,721,120 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,254,876 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $40,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,722 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

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.