Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) Stock Price Up 4.8% Following Dividend Announcement

Pembina Pipeline Co. (NYSE:PBA) (TSE:PPL) shot up 4.8% during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $38.25 and last traded at $38.10. 272,499 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,473,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.35.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.4783 dividend. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Pembina Pipeline’s payout ratio is presently 80.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PBA shares. TD Securities assumed coverage on shares of Pembina Pipeline in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Pembina Pipeline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Pembina Pipeline in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Pembina Pipeline Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 1.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pembina Pipeline

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PBA. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Pembina Pipeline by 223.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 735 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 16.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,697 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pembina Pipeline by 8.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,757 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Pembina Pipeline by 22.0% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,161 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Pembina Pipeline during the third quarter worth about $3,317,000. 55.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pembina Pipeline Company Profile

Pembina Pipeline Corporation provides energy transportation and midstream services. It operates through three segments: Pipelines, Facilities, and Marketing & New Ventures. The Pipelines segment operates conventional, oil sands and heavy oil, and transmission assets with a transportation capacity of 2.9 millions of barrels of oil equivalent per day, the ground storage capacity of 10 millions of barrels, and rail terminalling capacity of approximately 105 thousands of barrels of oil equivalent per day serving markets and basins across North America.