Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP)

Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a sector outperform rating and a $23.00 price objective on the pipeline company's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Plains GP from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Plains GP presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $18.13.

Plains GP Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE PAGP traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $19.65. The company had a trading volume of 3,134,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,260,771. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $12.59 and a fifty-two week high of $19.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $17.32 and its 200 day moving average is $16.44.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 1.33%. The company had revenue of $12.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.88 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Plains GP will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Plains GP's payout ratio is 124.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PAGP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 60.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,445 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 63.2% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,538 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Plains GP during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Plains GP during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 95.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.