Empowered Funds LLC Has $15.60 Million Stock Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Targa Resources position by 212% in the first quarter, owning 62,235 shares valued at approximately $15.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 92.13% of TRGP’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and two Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $288. Morgan Stanley has the highest cited target at $333.
• Targa Resources reported quarterly EPS of $2.21 and revenue of $4.09 billion, missing consensus estimates, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% annual yield.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 212.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,286 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Targa Resources were worth $15,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TRGP. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,321 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Targa Resources by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 340 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Targa Resources by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,210 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 66,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TRGP shares. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Targa Resources from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $333.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

Targa Resources Stock Up 1.2%

TRGP opened at $264.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $56.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $269.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.26. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $291.04.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. On average, analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.79 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Targa Resources's payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Targa Resources Profile

Targa Resources Corporation NYSE: TRGP is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers.

The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S.

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