Trexquant Investment LP Buys 80,750 Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. by 106.1% to a total of 156,862 shares, making its investment valued at approximately $31.4 million.
• Targa Resources reported strong quarterly earnings with $2.87 EPS, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.95, although revenue fell short of estimates.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, representing a boost from its previous dividend and yielding 2.4% annually.

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 106.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,862 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,750 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.07% of Targa Resources worth $31,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 578.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:TRGP traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $167.85. The stock had a trading volume of 986,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,519,261. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.11 and a 12 month 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $167.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.90. The company 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.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.92. Targa Resources had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 43.35%. The business had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $189.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $227.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

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.