Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Shares Sold by Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its Targa Resources stake by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 37,043 shares and leaving it with 174,928 shares valued at about $32.3 million.
• Targa Resources reported Q1 earnings and revenue below expectations, posting $2.21 EPS versus $2.48 expected and $4.09 billion in revenue versus $4.68 billion estimated.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share, or $5.00 annualized, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $269.21.

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC cut its stake in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,928 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 37,043 shares during the quarter. Targa Resources makes up approximately 0.7% of Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Targa Resources worth $32,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $735,758,000. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,644,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $516,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 288,004 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $53,137,000 after buying an additional 32,696 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE TRGP opened at $255.14 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $251.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.18. Targa Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $144.14 and a one year high of $280.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $54.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.75.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a net margin of 12.87% and a return on equity of 71.00%. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TRGP. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Targa Resources from $255.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $269.21.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $7,548,696.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 305,163 shares in the company, valued at $73,043,815.68. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,728 shares of company stock valued at $16,196,694. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Targa Resources Profile

Targa Resources Corporation NYSE: TRGP is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers.

The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S.

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