Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Shares Up 5.2% Following Dividend Announcement

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)’s share price traded up 5.2% during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $19.80 and last traded at $19.75. 262,299 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,155,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.78.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. This is an increase from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 149.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Plains GP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.11.

Plains GP Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plains GP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $151,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629,008 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 87.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 75,489 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 35,240 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 156,635 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,898,000 after acquiring an additional 3,582 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Plains GP by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 78,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Plains GP by 10.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 6,990 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Plains GP Company Profile

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.