Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Targa Resources, owning 101,105 shares after boosting its holdings by 57.2% in the first quarter, valued at $20.27 million.
• Targa Resources recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.12 to $1.00, representing a 2.5% dividend yield and an annualized payout of $4.00.
• Despite missing earnings estimates with $0.91 EPS against a forecast of $2.04, Targa Resources maintains a consensus buy rating from analysts, along with an average price target of $209.86.

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 57.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,105 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 36,808 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Targa Resources were worth $20,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,756,419 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $492,022,000 after buying an additional 53,853 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,191,307 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $391,148,000 after buying an additional 170,755 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,955,316 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $349,024,000 after buying an additional 353,165 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP increased its position in Targa Resources by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,661,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $296,524,000 after purchasing an additional 266,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its position in Targa Resources by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 1,231,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $219,910,000 after purchasing an additional 94,622 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $212.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $192.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $227.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.86.

Targa Resources Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:TRGP traded down $1.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $163.65. 2,045,021 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,316,387. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.04, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $128.44 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $167.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.28.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Targa Resources's payout ratio is presently 73.66%.

About Targa Resources

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.