Credit Agricole S A Buys 35,166 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Targa Resources by 42.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 35,166 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $23.5 million.
• Several hedge funds, including GQG Partners LLC and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., also significantly boosted their positions in Targa Resources, reflecting a strong interest in the company's stock among institutional investors.
• Targa Resources recently announced a substantial increase in its quarterly dividend, raising the amount from $0.12 to $1.00 per share, indicating strong financial performance and confidence in future earnings.

Credit Agricole S A boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 42.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,216 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,166 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A owned about 0.05% of Targa Resources worth $23,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 578.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 5,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:TRGP traded up $0.8190 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $162.9190. 1,000,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,571,554. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. Targa Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $142.11 and a one year high of $218.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.60.

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

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's payout ratio is 56.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on TRGP. Barclays upped their target price on Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. TD Securities initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Targa Resources from $227.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.21.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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.