Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) Shares Pass Below 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.07 and traded as low as $23.05. Plains GP shares last traded at $23.35, with a volume of 986,429 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Plains GP from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Plains GP in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Plains GP Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.24. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 172.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plains GP

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Plains GP during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. O Domhnaill Enterprises Inc. acquired a new position in Plains GP during the first quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Plains GP by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 5,859 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.