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Plains GP Holdings (PAGP) shares rallied 6.1% in the last trading session to close at $19.93. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 1.6% loss over the past four weeks.
The surge can be attributed to the sustained demand for Plains GP’s midstream services. Operating through its subsidiaries, Plains GP is involved in the transportation of crude oil and natural gas liquids across the United States and Canada. The demand for the company’s midstream services is expected to be supported by the current favorable crude price environment. The demand for crude products in the United States is also expected to rise, indicating stable and consistent demand for the company’s services. Additionally, Plains has recently announced three new acquisitions including Ironwood Midstream Energy from EnCap Flatrock Midstream, Medallion Midstream's Delaware Basin crude oil gathering assets and the remaining 50% stake in Midway Pipeline LLC. These bolt-on acquisitions enhance its presence in key crude-producing regions such as the Permian, Eagle Ford, and Mid-Con basins. The expanding footprint in key crude-producing regions, along with the consistent demand for its midstream services, has been a significant growth driver for PAGP.
This oil and gas holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.28 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +3.7%. Revenues are expected to be $13.16 billion, up 3.7% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For Plains GP, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on PAGP going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Plains GP is part of the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry. MPLX LP (MPLX), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 1.3% higher at $48.48. MPLX has returned 0.3% in the past month.