Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Pembina Pipeline from a "hold" to a "sell," although the consensus analyst rating remains a Hold with a $60 average price target and mixed views from other brokers.
• Pembina's latest quarter reported $0.56 EPS (beat $0.50 est.) while revenue fell to $1.02 billion (well below the $1.41B estimate) and was down 10.8% year-over-year.
• Shares traded around $46.47 (near the 52-week high of $46.70); the company has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a P/E of 24.46, low liquidity ratios (quick ratio 0.47, current ratio 0.61) and a debt-to-equity of 0.80.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Pembina Pipeline from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Pembina Pipeline presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $60.00.

Pembina Pipeline Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PBA opened at $46.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Pembina Pipeline has a 52 week low of $35.45 and a 52 week high of $46.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $44.30 and its 200 day moving average is $40.89. The company has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.58.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The pipeline company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.06. Pembina Pipeline had a net margin of 21.76% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pembina Pipeline will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Pembina Pipeline by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,449 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,150 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 13,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 56,339 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,278,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 55.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pembina Pipeline

Pembina Pipeline Corporation NYSE: PBA is a North American energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates midstream assets that transport, store and process hydrocarbons. Its core business focuses on the transportation of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and condensate, along with gas processing, fractionation, storage and related marketing services. Pembina serves producers, refiners and other energy companies by providing pipeline capacity, terminal services and midstream solutions that link upstream production to downstream markets and export facilities.

The company's asset base is concentrated in Western Canada, including major operations in Alberta and British Columbia, and it also has operations and commercial activities that extend into the United States.

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