Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 176,203 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 3,884% compared to the average volume of 4,423 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAGP. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Plains GP in the third quarter worth $242,000. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Plains GP by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,056 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 7,400 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 610,341 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,808,000 after buying an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Plains GP from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Plains GP from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of PAGP opened at $28.82 on Friday. Plains GP has a fifty-two week low of $16.89 and a fifty-two week high of $28.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.40 and its 200-day moving average is $24.59.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.86%.

Plains GP Company Profile

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) is a publicly traded holding company that owns and controls the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Through this ownership interest, Plains GP Holdings is linked to the operations of one of North America’s major midstream energy companies.

Plains All American Pipeline provides transportation, storage, terminalling, gathering, and other logistics services for crude oil and natural gas liquids. Its infrastructure includes pipelines, storage facilities, gathering systems, rail and truck terminals, and other assets used to move energy commodities from producing regions to refineries, processing facilities, and other markets.

The company’s operations primarily serve customers in the United States and Canada, with activity concentrated in key oil- and liquids-producing regions and connected transportation corridors.