Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

PAGP has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Plains GP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAGP traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.66. 5,364,299 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,576,608. Plains GP has a 52 week low of $17.17 and a 52 week high of $22.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21 and a beta of 1.11. The company's 50 day moving average price is $21.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio is presently 286.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PAGP. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 57,596 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 2,241 shares during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP during the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 687,257 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,714,000 after purchasing an additional 78,845 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 93,643 shares during the period. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Plains GP during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

About Plains GP

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.