Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 107,486 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has increased its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. by 59.5%, owning approximately $57.78 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 107,486 shares in the first quarter.
• Targa Resources recently declared a substantial boost in its quarterly dividend, raising it from $0.12 to $1.00, resulting in an annualized dividend of $4.00 with a yield of 2.4%.
• The company reported $2.87 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $4.26 billion for the most recent quarter.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 59.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 288,214 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 107,486 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Targa Resources worth $57,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. Shelton Capital Management bought a new position in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 64,297 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $11,477,000 after buying an additional 36,672 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,971 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 4,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Targa Resources by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,495 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on TRGP. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Targa Resources to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.00.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded down $1.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $166.10. The stock had a trading volume of 656,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,384. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.54. The stock has a market cap of $35.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.60 and a 12 month high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.92. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.58%.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.