Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 176,203 call options on Plains GP, approximately 3,884% above its typical call volume of 4,423 contracts.
• Mixed analyst sentiment: Plains GP has an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $26.00, despite some analysts maintaining Buy or Strong Buy ratings and raising their targets.
• Shares and dividend: PAGP rose to $28.82, near its 52-week high of $28.96. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4175, representing a 5.8% annualized yield.

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 176,203 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 3,884% compared to the typical volume of 4,423 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAGP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Plains GP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Plains GP in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Plains GP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Plains GP presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth about $242,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Plains GP by 8.7% in the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,056 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 0.9% in the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 610,341 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $15,808,000 after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the last quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Plains GP in the third quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Plains GP by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,905 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Plains GP Stock Performance

PAGP stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.82. 2,086,951 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,796,486. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38 and a beta of 0.54. Plains GP has a 52 week low of $16.89 and a 52 week high of $28.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.54. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $0.4175 dividend. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.86%.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. NYSE: PAGP is a publicly traded holding company that owns and controls the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Through this ownership interest, Plains GP Holdings is linked to the operations of one of North America's major midstream energy companies.

Plains All American Pipeline provides transportation, storage, terminalling, gathering, and other logistics services for crude oil and natural gas liquids. Its infrastructure includes pipelines, storage facilities, gathering systems, rail and truck terminals, and other assets used to move energy commodities from producing regions to refineries, processing facilities, and other markets.

The company's operations primarily serve customers in the United States and Canada, with activity concentrated in key oil- and liquids-producing regions and connected transportation corridors.

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