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

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually large block of options—242,898 call options were traded on PAGP, about a 3,341% increase versus the stock's typical daily call volume, signaling heavy bullish positioning.
• Plains GP declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4175 (ex-dividend date May 1), implying an annualized payment of $1.67 and a 6.8% yield
• Analyst coverage is mixed with a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.90, while institutional investors own 88.3% of the shares and several hedge funds recently increased stakes.

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 242,898 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 3,341% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,059 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PAGP. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Plains GP from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Plains GP from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $23.00 target price on Plains GP in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Plains GP from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Plains GP presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.90.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGP. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 227.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 2,055,395 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $37,490,000 after buying an additional 1,427,743 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Plains GP in the third quarter worth approximately $9,629,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Plains GP by 36.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,750,236 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $31,924,000 after buying an additional 466,773 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Plains GP by 46.1% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,446,983 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,393,000 after buying an additional 456,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its holdings in Plains GP by 510.6% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 519,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,945,000 after buying an additional 434,499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Plains GP Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:PAGP traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $24.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,276,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,570. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.41 and its 200 day moving average is $20.55. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $16.68 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.13 and a beta of 0.50. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.4175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio is currently 129.46%.

About Plains GP

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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