Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Buys 57,900 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 279.7%, owning 78,600 shares valued at approximately $15.76 million.
• Targa Resources recently reported an EPS of $2.87, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.95, though its revenue of $4.26 billion fell short of the projected $4.82 billion.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00, significantly higher than its previous dividend of $0.12, indicating a strong return to shareholders with a 2.4% dividend yield.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 279.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 57,900 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $15,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 22,807 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 5,073 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $338,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,467,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $6,319,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Targa Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $192.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Targa Resources stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $162.34. The stock had a trading volume of 537,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,820,440. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93. The firm's 50 day moving average is $166.37 and its 200 day moving average is $172.08. Targa Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $142.11 and a one year high of $218.51.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.92. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's payout ratio is currently 56.58%.

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.