Gabelli Funds LLC Invests $5.85 Million in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC acquired 29,200 shares of Targa Resources, valued at approximately $5.85 million, in Q1, adding to a trend of increasing institutional involvement in the company, which now boasts over 92% institutional ownership.
• Targa Resources announced a significant increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, up from the previous $0.12, reflecting a growing commitment to return capital to shareholders.
• Recent analyst ratings for Targa Resources show a consensus of Moderate Buy with a target price of $209.21, illustrating a generally positive outlook despite some mixed price target adjustments.

Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $5,854,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TRGP. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 578.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $192.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Targa Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, TD Securities initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:TRGP traded up $0.89 during trading on Monday, reaching $167.85. The stock had a trading volume of 986,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,519,261. 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 has a market cap of $36.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $167.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.90. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.11 and a fifty-two week high of $218.51.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.58%.

Targa Resources 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.