Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Pembina Pipeline hit a new 52‑week high, trading as high as $46.42 (last $46.3760); despite the rally the consensus analyst rating is a Hold with an average target price of $60.00.
• In the latest quarter Pembina posted $0.56 EPS (beating the $0.50 estimate) but revenue missed at $1.02B and was down 10.8% year‑over‑year, with a net margin of 21.8% and ROE of 11.2%.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.71 (annualized $2.84) for a 6.1% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is about 109%, which raises questions about sustainability.

Pembina Pipeline Corp. (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL's stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.42 and last traded at $46.3760, with a volume of 510579 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PBA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pembina Pipeline from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.00.

Pembina Pipeline Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company's 50 day moving average price is $44.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 0.62.

Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA - Get Free Report) TSE: PPL last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The pipeline company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Pembina Pipeline's revenue was down 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pembina Pipeline Corp. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pembina Pipeline Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Pembina Pipeline's dividend payout ratio is 109.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 8.6% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 309,779 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,528,000 after buying an additional 24,400 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 96.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 216,975 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,775,000 after buying an additional 106,419 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 12.6% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 1,073,818 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $43,402,000 after buying an additional 120,272 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,274,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $124,621,000 after buying an additional 298,412 shares during the period. Finally, Sienna Gestion lifted its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 1,412,500.0% in the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 339,024 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,500,000 after buying an additional 339,000 shares during the period. 55.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pembina Pipeline Company Profile

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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