Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) from a Strong Sell to a Hold.
• Analyst coverage is mixed with a consensus Hold and an average price target of $21.90, while individual targets range roughly $19–$25 and ratings span from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Shares opened at $22.94 (52‑week range $16.68–$24.75) with a market cap of about $4.54B, and institutions own roughly 88.3% of the stock, several funds recently increasing positions.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

PAGP has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Plains GP from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Mizuho set a $23.00 price objective on Plains GP in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Plains GP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America cut Plains GP from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plains GP presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.90.

Plains GP Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE PAGP opened at $22.94 on Tuesday. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $16.68 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 10,196,673 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $185,987,000 after purchasing an additional 102,916 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,386,299 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $80,006,000 after purchasing an additional 66,695 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its position in Plains GP by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 3,725,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $71,296,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Plains GP by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,407,809 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $65,225,000 after buying an additional 58,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in Plains GP by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,829,953 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $54,165,000 after buying an additional 163,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Plains GP Company Profile

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. NYSE: PAGP serves as the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., one of North America's leading energy infrastructure companies. Through its ownership of a 2% general partner interest and incentive distribution rights (IDRs), Plains GP Holdings participates in the governance and cash distribution structure of a diversified portfolio of crude oil and natural gas liquids gathering, transportation, storage, and terminaling assets.

The company's primary business activities include overseeing the strategic direction and capital allocation decisions for its affiliated midstream operations.

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