Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 11,486 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC has increased its holdings in Targa Resources to approximately $29.18 million, after acquiring an additional 11,486 shares during the second quarter.
• Analysts have set a new consensus target price for Targa Resources at $208.86, with multiple firms issuing "overweight" and "buy" ratings for the stock.
• Targa Resources recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, significantly higher than its previous dividend of $0.12, reflecting a positive growth in shareholder returns.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,602 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 11,486 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.08% of Targa Resources worth $29,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,584,275 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,529,820,000 after purchasing an additional 423,667 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 7.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,790,955 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,764,673,000 after buying an additional 962,631 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 3.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,565,960 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $915,338,000 after acquiring an additional 139,780 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 64.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,614,307 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $724,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 2.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,834,418 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $568,217,000 after acquiring an additional 77,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE TRGP traded down $5.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.39. 3,499,316 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,249,636. The company has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.20. Targa Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $144.30 and a one year high of $218.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $165.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.43.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. On average, analysts predict 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 issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Targa Resources's payout ratio is 56.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up previously from $198.00) on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $207.27.

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.