Sciencast Management LP Makes New Investment in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has acquired a new stake in Targa Resources, buying 2,203 shares valued at approximately $442,000 during the first quarter.
• On August 15th, Targa Resources announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.12 to $1.00 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" on Targa Resources stock, with the average target price set at $208.86.

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,203 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position 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. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut 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. 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 assumed 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 for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.86.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $165.15. 953,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,271,112. The stock has a market cap of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.93, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $166.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.79. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.30 and a 12 month high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.92. The company 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Targa Resources's payout ratio is presently 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.