Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP Position Trimmed by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC decreased its position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) by 65.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,071 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,074 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Targa Resources were worth $215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $167.85 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $167.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.64. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.11 and a 52 week high of $218.51. The stock has a market cap of $36.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.21.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRGP has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $259.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Targa Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Cfra Research raised shares of Targa Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

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.