Energy Income Partners LLC Sells 239,199 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners cut its Targa Resources stake by 42.3%, selling 239,199 shares and retaining 326,775 shares valued at approximately $81.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.13% of TRGP.
• Targa Resources reported quarterly EPS of $2.21, below the $2.48 analyst consensus, while revenue of $4.09 billion also missed expectations of $4.68 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.25, equating to a 1.9% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and two Hold ratings; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $288, compared with an opening price of $267.35.

Energy Income Partners LLC lowered its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,775 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 239,199 shares during the quarter. Targa Resources comprises approximately 1.3% of Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned 0.15% of Targa Resources worth $81,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 34,805 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $6,421,000 after acquiring an additional 12,640 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 820,310 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $151,331,000 after purchasing an additional 53,413 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 37.3% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 230,592 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $57,816,000 after purchasing an additional 62,652 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its position in Targa Resources by 164.1% in the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 33,641 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $6,245,000 after purchasing an additional 20,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in Targa Resources by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 97,731 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $18,031,000 after purchasing an additional 10,946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $267.35 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $269.71 and its 200 day moving average is $243.03. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $291.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on TRGP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Targa Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $318.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Targa Resources

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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