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

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

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on PAGP. Citigroup lifted their target price on Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Plains GP in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a sector outperform rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Plains GP from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Plains GP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plains GP presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $19.55.

Plains GP Stock Performance

Shares of PAGP traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.24. 1,733,080 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,210,767. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Plains GP has a twelve month low of $12.59 and a twelve month high of $19.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $17.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.55.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $12.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.88 billion. Plains GP had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.33%. Analysts predict that Plains GP will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a $0.3175 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. Plains GP's payout ratio is 124.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $130,898,000 after purchasing an additional 3,318,007 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 6,632,388 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $105,787,000 after purchasing an additional 429,179 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 43.7% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,958,406 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $79,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506,884 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 12.4% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,871,231 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $78,524,000 after purchasing an additional 539,000 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,645,531 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $74,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company's stock.

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.