This 9% dividend stock can grow its payout In 2026

Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) pulled disconnected a strategical pivot that has dividend investors asking 1 question: Can this 9% yielder support raising payouts?

The Houston-based midstream elephantine operates crude lipid pipelines, terminals, and retention facilities crossed the U.S. and Canada.

And pursuing caller deals worthy billions, the institution is betting large that becoming a pure-play crude relation volition present much unchangeable currency flows and stronger organisation growth.

Let’s dive deeper.

Plains conscionable completed 2 important transactions that fundamentally alteration what the institution looks like.

First, it acquired 100% ownership of the EPIC Crude pipeline strategy for astir $1.3 billion, including astir $500 cardinal successful debt.

The woody closed successful 2 parts: a 55% involvement purchased from Diamondback and Kinetik, followed by the remaining 45% operating involvement from an Ares backstage equity portfolio company.

Plains plans to rename the strategy Cactus III and integrate it with its existing Cactus long-haul infrastructure.

CEO Willie Chiang called the EPIC acquisitions "highly synergistic and precise strategic," projecting a mid-teens unlevered return. Management expects a 2026 adjusted EBITDA aggregate of astir 10x, which should amended meaningfully implicit the adjacent fewer years.

Related: Jim Cramer issues urgent instrumentality connected lipid stocks

The flip side? Plains is selling its full Canadian NGL concern to Keyera for $5.15 billion. That woody is expected to adjacent by the extremity of the archetypal 4th of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

Two of the 3 required approvals are already successful hand—U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino and the Canadian Transportation Act. The Canadian Competition Bureau support process is inactive ongoing.

The EPIC acquisition isn't conscionable astir adding pipes to the portfolio. Plains present controls operatorship, which accelerates synergy seizure crossed the full system.

Near-term benefits see contractual step-ups, reduced operating costs and overhead, prime optimization opportunities, and amended utilization of Plains' existing Permian and Eagle Ford plus base.

Long-term, the strategy offers enlargement capableness that could supply further Gulf Coast entree arsenic request grows.

Executive Vice President Jeremy Goebel highlighted that a important information of EPIC's contracts tally long-term, with medium-duration agreements covering the balance. The pipeline operates astatine existent marketplace rates, positioning it for unchangeable and increasing currency flows.

According to CFO Al Swanson, the EPIC acquisition extends Plains' weighted mean declaration duration from 2028 to October 2029.