Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Stamps.com Plummets After Nixing Its Exclusive USPS Deal

Stamps.com (NASDAQ:STMP) announced solid fourth-quarter results for 2018 on Thursday, handily beating earnings expectations as the company's strategic focus on its highest-value customers continues to play out. However, the online postage and shipping solutions leader also stunned investors with weak forward guidance, driven by its decision to terminate its exclusive partnership with the United States Postal Service.

With shares down nearly 58% on Friday in response, let's dig deeper to see both how Stamps.com ended 2018 and what investors should expect in the coming year.

Hand putting a stamp on a white envelop

Image source: Getty Images.

Stamps.com results: The raw numbers Metric

Q4 2018

Q4 2017

Year-Over-Year Growth

Revenue

$170.2 million

$132.5 million

29%

GAAP net income

$42.7 million

$40.2 million

6%

GAAP net income per diluted share

$2.30

$2.15

7%

Data source: Stamps.com. GAAP = generally accepted accounting principles. 

What happened with Stamps.com this quarter? Mailing and shipping segment revenue grew 29% to $165.4 million, and customized postage revenue climbed 23% to $4.8 million. Adjusted for items like stock-based compensation and acquisition expenses, (non-GAAP) net income declined 20% year over year to $3.73 per share -- above the $2.90 per share most investors were expecting. Adjusted EBITDA grew 11% to $71.3 million. Paid customers were flat compared to year-ago at 736,000, which is consistent with Stamps.com's strategic focus on acquiring fewer customers with higher lifetime values. As far as that goes, average monthly revenue per paid customer grew 29% to $74.93. Average monthly churn was 2.9%, down slightly from 3% in last year's fourth quarter. Stamps.com repurchased 531,000 shares for $88.5 million during the quarter.  What management had to say 

Stamps.com chairman and CEO Ken McBride stated:

We are pleased with our fourth quarter and fiscal 2018 financial performance. We achieved strong financial results driven by exceptional execution in our shipping business and we completed our strategic acquisition of MetaPack which has positioned Stamps.com as the leading global e-commerce shipping software company. We are well positioned to successfully compete on a global scale with a focus on driving long-term value for our customers, partners and shareholders.

During the subsequent conference call, however, McBride dropped this bombshell:

When our customers are offered services, such as Shipping with Amazon, FedEx One Rate, UPS' new products, regional carriers, Uber shipping, ship from store and everything else, we have to bring those solutions to our customers so that they can always choose the best alternative for their business. The USPS is working hard to compete in the e-commerce shipping industry. But ... they have many constituents and they have many issues to deal with that the more nimble private carriers do not. As everyone knows, we've been in discussions with the USPS about a renewal of our long-standing revenue share agreement that we utilize to drive their shipping business. We have proposed our terms of renewal to the USPS. One of our nonnegotiable items is that ... we will no longer be exclusive to the USPS. And that's nonnegotiable. USPS has not agreed to accept these terms or any other terms of our partnership proposal. So at this point, we've decided to discontinue our shipping partnership with the USPS so that we can fully embrace partnerships with other carriers who we think will be well positioned to win in the shipping business in the next five years.

In short, given the direction of the broader shipping industry and a plethora of superior options for customers -- as well as the USPS' refusal to accept Stamps.com's terms for renewal -- Stamps.com will no longer partner with USPS exclusively.

Looking forward

Therefore, McBride warned that Stamps.com will experience "some short-term pain ... over the next few years" as it sacrifices its shipping revenue share with the USPS.

In the meantime, Stamps.com expects full-year fiscal 2019 revenue in the range of $540 million to $570 million -- down 5.4% from 2018 at the midpoint and far below the 16% growth most analysts were modeling. That should translate to adjusted net income per share of $5.15 to $6.15 -- down from $11.78 per share in 2018, and a little more than half the $10.79 per share Wall Street was expecting.

To be fair, this might be exactly the right move to ensure Stamps.com can survive and thrive over the long term in our fast-changing shipping industry. But given the financial pressure it must endure until then, it's no surprise to see the stock plummeting in response.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now

tags:SOL,FMCN,BIDU,TISA,ATAI,SINA, Related FXI China Stocks Edge Lower Following Trade Data China Stocks Trade Slightly Higher 'Outflows' (Seeking Alpha) Related GXC China Stocks Edge Lower Following Trade Data China Stocks Trade Slightly Higher Return From Exile On Main Street (Seeking Alpha)

Chinese stocks were trading higher on Friday. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 10 points, or 0.31 percent to 3,225.33, while the Shenzhen composite rose 0.04 percent to 540.01.

China’s CPI rose 0.1 percent in November from October, compared to expectations for a 0.1 percent growth. China's CPI gained 2.3 percent year-over-year in November.

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA: FXI) shares closed at $37.69 on Thursday, while SPDR S&P China (ETF) (NYSEARCA: GXC) rose 0.16 percent to close at $76.77.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.33 percent, to 19,614.81, the S&P500 index rose 0.22 percent to 2,246.19, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.44 percent to 5,417.36.

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Renesola Ltd.(SOL)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    Sola Token (CURRENCY:SOL) traded 17.9% lower against the dollar during the 1-day period ending at 16:00 PM E.T. on October 11th. One Sola Token token can now be bought for about $0.0054 or 0.00000087 BTC on cryptocurrency exchanges including Tidex and OpenLedger DEX. Sola Token has a total market cap of $153,306.00 and $1,856.00 worth of Sola Token was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. In the last seven days, Sola Token has traded down 12.2% against the dollar.

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    These are some of the media headlines that may have impacted Accern’s scoring:

    Get ReneSola alerts: ReneSola Sells North Carolina Solar Project To Greenbacker (solarindustrymag.com) ReneSola (SOL) Rating Increased to Neutral at Roth Capital (americanbankingnews.com) ReneSola (SOL) Q1 Earnings in Line, Revenues Top Estimates (zacks.com) ReneSola’s (SOL) CEO Xianshou Li on Q1 2018 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (seekingalpha.com) ReneSola (SOL) Releases Earnings Results (americanbankingnews.com)

    Shares of ReneSola traded up $0.08, hitting $2.76, during trading on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The stock had a trading volume of 124,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.11 million, a PE ratio of 21.23 and a beta of 2.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. ReneSola has a 12 month low of $2.12 and a 12 month high of $3.79.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on ReneSola (SOL)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Focus Media Holding Limited(FMCN)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    An issue of Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ:FMCN) bonds fell 0.9% against their face value during trading on Monday. The high-yield debt issue has a 7.25% coupon and will mature on April 1, 2023. The bonds in the issue are now trading at $99.13 and were trading at $98.13 last week. Price moves in a company’s bonds in credit markets sometimes anticipate parallel moves in its share price.

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    An issue of Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ:FMCN) debt fell 1.1% against its face value during trading on Tuesday. The debt issue has a 7.5% coupon and is set to mature on April 1, 2025. The debt is now trading at $97.63 and was trading at $98.50 last week. Price changes in a company’s debt in credit markets sometimes anticipate parallel changes in its stock price.

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Baidu Inc.(BIDU)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Trey Thoelcke]

    Baidu Inc.’s (NASDAQ: BIDU) fourth-quarter report is due Thursday after the markets close. The consensus forecast calls for $1.78 in EPS on $3.87 billion in revenue. Shares ended the week trading at $170.06 apiece, in a 52-week trading range of $153.78 to $284.22. The consensus price target is $233.02.

  • [By Lisa Levin]

    Check out these big penny stock gainers and losers

    Losers ReTo Eco-Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RETO) fell 9.3 percent to $4.50 in pre-market trading. ProPhase Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRPH) shares fell 8.5 percent to $4.50 in pre-market trading after dropping 3.53 percent on Thursday. Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) fell 7.5 percent to $47.10 in pre-market trading. Nordstrom reported upbeat results for its first quarter. Comparable-store sales rose 0.6 percent. Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares fell 6 percent to $263.00 in pre-market trading. Baidu disclosed that its COO Qi Lu will step down in July 2018. Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) shares fell 5.6 percent to $8.98 in pre-market trading after climbing 11.88 percent on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) fell 5 percent to $51.30 in pre-market trading. Applied Materials reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter, but issued weak sales outlook for the third quarter. Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ: BLNK) fell 5 percent to $7.61 in pre-market trading after rising 11.40 percent on Thursday. Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) shares fell 4.7 percent to $255.77 in pre-market trading. Vascular Biogenics Ltd (NASDAQ: VBLT) fell 4.6 percent to $2.10 in pre-market trading after reporting a first-quarter earnings miss. Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) fell 3.3 percent to $37.60 in pre-market trading. Campbell Soup reported upbeat Q3 earnings, but sales missed estimates. The company also lowered its FY18 outlook. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAD) shares fell 2.7 percent to $17.65 in pre-market trading after reporting a 7.2 million common stock offering
  • [By Steve Symington]

    Shares of Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) fell 9.5% on Friday after the Chinese internet search leader announced that its chief operating officer, Qi Lu, is stepping down from his post.

  • [By Chris Hill]

    No power? No problem. In today's episode of Market Foolery, host Chris Hill and Motley Fool contributor Matt Argersinger come to you from the powerless Fool HQ studio with a show that's all about listener questions. Is now the time to buy big Chinese companies like Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)? Or is there still a heck of a lot farther the Chinese stock market can fall from here? What would Square (NYSE:SQ) have to gain from chomping up eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)? Is there any downside to a no-fee, super-diversified portfolio, like one you might build on Robinhood? Tune in for answers to these questions, some advice on setting up a winning portfolio, and much more.

  • [By Dan Caplinger]

    The stock market had a mixed day on Wednesday, with gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average coming largely at the expense of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, as well as smaller-company stocks. Investors were encouraged by solid economic data showing strength in the housing market, and strength in the financial sector was especially helpful for the Dow. Nervousness about potential regulation of high-flying tech stocks dampened market sentiment to some extent, but a few individual stocks posted sizable gains. GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), and W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.

  • [By Motley Fool Staff]

    Vena: Right. iQiyi, when they started developing this original content, keep in mind that they were still owned by Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), which spun them off earlier this year. Now, Baidu has a lot of similarities to Google. They are the major search engine in China. They have a lot of data. They've been at the forefront of artificial intelligence. So, one of the things that iQiyi said in their IPO filing with the SEC is that they view that data and their ability to analyze that data using artificial intelligence as one of their competitive advantages. So, they have used that to generate shows that Chinese consumers just really love.

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Top Image Systems Ltd.(TISA)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Top Image Systems (TISA)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

  • [By Money Morning Staff Reports]

    Before we get to our latest pick, here are last week's top-performing penny stocks:

    Penny Stock Sector Current Share Price Last Week's Gain Melinta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: MLNT) Healthcare $1.74 104.01% Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PTX) Healthcare $0.83 84.40% Top Image Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: TISA) Healthcare $0.82 59.85% Jason Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: JASN) Healthcare $2.21 58.99% Maxwell Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: MXWL) Financial $4.66 51.79% Marathon Patent Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) Healthcare $0.52 51.47% Forward Pharma A/S (NASDAQ: FWP) Basic Materials $1.53 43.57% Dixie Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DXYN) Healthcare $1.40 42.86% Trevena Inc. (NASDAQ: TRVN) Services $1.41 39.60% Alliance MMA Inc. (NASDAQ: AMMA) Healthcare $4.95 36.18%

    Don't Miss Out: The Treasury is sitting on an $11.1 billion cash pile, and a loophole entitles Americans to a sizable portion. Some are collecting $1,795, $3,000, or $5,000 every month thanks to this powerful investment…

  • [By Joseph Griffin]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Top Image Systems (TISA)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now: ATA Inc.(ATAI)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Paul Ausick]

    ATA Inc. (NASDAQ: ATAI) traded down about 14% Monday to set a new 52-week low of $0.82, based on revalued shares that closed at $0.72 on Friday but traded up about 250% on Monday at $2.53. Volume was more than 200 times the daily average of around 42,000. You’re on your own here to figure this one out.

Top China Stocks To Watch Right Now: Sina Corporation(SINA)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Leo Sun]

    SINA (NASDAQ:SINA), one of China's oldest internet companies, generates nearly 80% of its revenues from the social network Weibo (NASDAQ:WB). It spun off Weibo in 2014, but maintained a majority voting stake in the company. The rest of its revenue come from its network of portal sites and its fledgling fintech business.

  • [By Leo Sun]

    Shares of SINA (NASDAQ:SINA) and Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) have both tumbled this year, mainly due to escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. Yet their sell-offs seem overdone, since both tech companies are well insulated from a potential trade war.

  • [By Leo Sun]

    Shares of SINA (NASDAQ:SINA) fell 7% on Aug. 8 after the Chinese internet company reported its second quarter earnings. Yet the decline, which brought SINA to a 52-week low, seemed unjustified, as the company easily beat analyst estimates.

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on SINA (SINA)

    For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

  • [By Steve Symington]

    You wouldn't know it by the market's knee-jerk reaction, but SINA Corp. (NASDAQ:SINA) just announced another stronger-than-expected quarter early Wednesday. Shares of the Chinese internet media company fell 10% when all was said and done today -- though it's not the first time we've seen the stock fall on positive news.

  • [By Lisa Levin] Companies Reporting Before The Bell Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE: BUD) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $13.06 billion. SINA Corporation (NASDAQ: SINA) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.42 per share on revenue of $433.32 million. Weibo Corporation (NASDAQ: WB) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.47 per share on revenue of $342.39 million. Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $1.55 billion. Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ: MYL) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.98 per share on revenue of $2.75 billion. Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $1.31 per share on revenue of $1.51 billion. ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $1.11 billion. Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.13 per share on revenue of $2.18 billion. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: PNK) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $644.94 million. Conduent Incorporated (NYSE: CNDT) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $1.44 billion. Delphi Technologies PLC (NYSE: DLPH) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $1.16 per share on revenue of $1.25 billion. Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.08 per share on revenue of $2.72 billion. Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP) is estimated to report quarterly earnings at $0.13 per share on revenue of $2.33 billion. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE: WWW) is projected to report quarterly earnings at $0.37 per share on revenue of $530.99 million. Performance Food Group Company (NYSE: PFGC) is expected to report quarterly earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $4.46 billion. Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is projected to report

Thursday, February 21, 2019

More black investors should look to stock market to grow their wealth

If you can't see it, will you believe in it?

The "it" takes different forms, depending on the context. If the focus is black wealth, the "it" represents the stock market. And in this context, investing time, energy and even money into something unseen can translate into a very risky proposition.

If wealth is a household objective in black communities, the stock market should absolutely be considered.

Low African-American participation in the stock market contributes to the widening wealth gap between black and white households, according to a 2014 study by Credit Suisse and Brandeis University's Institute on Assets and Social Policy.

There are signs, however, that change is coming. To that point, according to a 2017 market research report, about 67 percent of African-Americans with incomes of at least $50,000 have money invested in stocks or stock mutual funds. That compares with 60 percent in 2010 and 57 percent in 1998.

More from Invest in You:
Stashing cash finally starts to pay off
Why HSAs are ideal millennials savings vehicles
Smart moves for long-term financial security

Proven, tangible options — such as real estate, certificate of deposits and insurance policy contracts — have made the case for expanding one's portfolio to include the stock market a tough sell for African-Americans.

Let's be honest, when the stock market's highs and lows show up in real numbers on investment statements, handling the ping-pong effect between euphoria and misery challenges even the best of us. The stock market as a long-term play requires trust, engagement and belief that "it" was created with us in mind.

The stock market features a concept that resonates with many African Americans: business ownership. In fact, entrepreneurship holds great importance for historically disenfranchised communities seeking greater access to goods, services and sustainable income. Business investment as a stockholder expands opportunities to join other stakeholders in the quest for profitability and returns, as well as to share the risks.

"It's important for African-Americans to recognize that they don't have to take the plunge into the stock market alone. Consider taking classes in investments, hiring a certified financial planner and joining an investment club." -Lazetta Rainey Braxton, founder and CEO of Financial Fountains

Also, there is no escape from investing in the market if you plan to have a paycheck in retirement. With the decline of employer-funded pensions, workers rely more than ever on individual contributions in market-based investments such as individual retirement accounts, employer-sponsored retirement accounts — e.g., 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans and SEP IRAs — and personal investment accounts, including brokerage and health savings accounts.

As the adage goes, "If you can't beat them, join them."

Here are some tangible ways that can help unbelief in the black community regarding stock market investing turn into informed belief:

Assess what you have. Start by looking at your retirement statement and identifying your investments. If your employer does not provide fact sheets on the investments, search the investments online to understand which markets are represented and the strategy behind the investment. Consult with your employers' retirement plan provider regarding any questions you might have.Stay informed. Have an affinity for a certain company? Consider setting up an online brokerage account that has no investment minimum and minimal trading costs. Invest an amount that would be the equivalent to something you could do without (e.g., a $5 Starbucks coffee, a $30 dinner, a $100 pair of shoes, a $150 concert ticket — you get the point).Create a Google alert on the company so you can stay current on its activities and assess if it remains a good investment. The buy-and-hold strategy for sound stock investments works well for income tax and wealth transfer strategies.Spread the risk. While you research buying stocks, consider investing in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in a brokerage account. Your employer-based retirement accounts use these investment vehicles to spread out the risk of owning a few stocks. The major benefits of owning individual investment accounts along with your retirement account include:

• Income tax rates on capital gains (the difference between the stock purchase price and the stock selling price) are typically lower than the income tax on tax-deferred withdrawals from an employer-sponsored retirement account;

• Withdrawals are not subject to an early withdrawal penalty; and

• Any losses on the stock sales, if taken, can offset taxable income subject to IRS rules.

It's important for African-Americans to recognize that they don't have to take the plunge into the stock market alone. Consider taking classes in investments, hiring a certified financial planner and joining an investment club. It's important to design an investment strategy in the stock market that has your specific investment goals in mind.

— By Lazetta Rainey Braxton, founder and CEO of Financial Fountains

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Targa Resources (TRGP) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Logo of jester cap with thought bubble with words 'Fool Transcripts' below it

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 20, 2019 11:00 a.m. ET

Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Targa Resources Corporation fourth-quarter 2018 earnings webcast and presentation. [Operator instructions] As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr.

Sanjay Lad, director of investor relations. Sir, you may begin.

Sanjay Lad -- Director of Investor Relations

Thank you, Tom. Good morning, and welcome to the fourth-quarter 2018 earnings call for Targa Resources Corp. The fourth-quarter earnings release for Targa Resources Corp., Targa, TRC or the company, along with the fourth-quarter earnings supplement presentation are available on the investors section of our website at targaresources.com. In addition, an updated investor presentation has also been posted to our website.

Any statements made during this call that might include the company's expectations or predictions should be considered forward-looking statements and are covered by the safe harbor provision of the Securities Act of 1933 and 1934. Please note that actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ, please refer to our recent SEC filings, including the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31st 2017, and subsequently filed reports with the SEC. Our speakers for the call today will be Joe Bob Perkins, chief executive officer; Matt Meloy, president; and Jen Kneale, chief financial officer.

We will also have the following senior management team members available for Q&A: Pat McDonie, president, gathering and processing; Scott Pryor, president, logistics and marketing; and Bobby Muraro, chief commercial officer. Joe Bob will begin today's call with a few strategic highlights, followed by Matt, who will provide an update on commercial development and business outlook, and then Jen will discuss fourth-quarter 2018 results and present our operational and financial expectations for 2019 before we take the questions. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Joe Bob.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Sanjay. Thank you to everyone for joining our fourth-quarter and year-end 2018 call. It's a pleasure to be with you again this morning. 2018 was one of the busiest years ever at Targa, and what should be viewed as another transformational year for the company.

Over the course of 2018, including only the major headlines, Targa added approximately 860 million cubic feet per day of incremental natural gas processing capacity. Announced the significant Delaware Basin G&P expansion supported by long-term agreements with a large investment-grade energy company. Approved and began construction on another 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of incremental processing capacity. Announced and began construction on the Grand Prix extension into southern Oklahoma.

Announced and began construction on two new 110,000-barrel per day fractionators at our Mont Belvieu complex. Created innovative development company joint ventures or so called DevCos that provided $190 million of capital reimbursement at closing. In total, potential capital savings of up to $960 million on projects already in process. Raised approximately 684 million of common equity and issued $1 billion of senior notes over the course of the year.

Generated approximately $230 million in proceeds from asset sales. And Targa exceeded our previously disclosed full-year 2018 adjusted EBITDA guidance, that is a new Targa record with annual EBITDA of $1,366,000,000. Most importantly, those Targa execution highlights are complemented by the continued safe operations of our existing infrastructure facilities and our projects under construction, with safety focus as job No. 1 for our talented and dedicated employees across the company.

Now, we're only one and half months into 2019 and we've not slowed down. So far, in this new year, we closed on an aggregate $1.5 billion of eight-and-a-half-year and 10-year senior notes at attractive rates, demonstrating tremendous bondholder support for the Targa story. We announced the further extension of Grand Prix into the stack region of central Oklahoma, executed definitive supporting agreements with Williams and secured significant additional long-term NGL volume commitments for transportation on Grand Prix and fractionation at our Mont Belvieu complex. And we very recently executed definitive agreements for the sale of a 45% interest in our Badlands business, generating proceeds of approximately $1.6 billion.

These proceeds will substantially meet our estimated equity needs for 2019, for announced net growth CAPEX and the Permian acquisition earnout. It was a very important deal and we were happy to announce it earlier this week. Those of you who follow us closely know that many of our major projects under way will be completed over the next few months, including our Grand Prix NGL pipeline project. We've been saying this for some time now, and we'll say it again, Grand Prix really is a strategic competitive game-changer for Targa.

It seems like every quarter, we announce another exciting new development that leverages Grand Prix in our integrated asset base, and the Williams deal does that again. Our growth projects under way position us for significant EBITDA growth. The strength of our integrated asset footprint and growth projects complemented by our continued commercial success drive increasing largely fee-based cash flows, an attractive long-term outlook and substantially increased Targa size, scale and customer reputation as a large cap infrastructure operator. Fundamentally, the robust long-term outlook for domestic production volumes and what that means for Targa will lead to the high utilization of our infrastructure expansions, recently completed and under way, providing the line of sight to significantly increasing free cash flow at Targa.

Targa is in a special unique position. An investor recently made some observations that I believe will soon become more widely appreciated, and I'd like to share this with you. No. 1, Targa has a franchise Permian G&P position and diversity from other strong G&P positions.

No. 2 is Targa is one of only a very few integrated companies with the combination of strong gathering and processing plus NGL transportation, plus Mont Belvieu fractionation, plus NGL exports and other premium downstream markets. No. 3, Targa has an unmatched growth picture among significantly sized midstream companies and has a growing amount of fee-based business.

And he summarized, Targa is clearly on path to join a short list of high-performing, scaled, investment-grade midstream companies. And on that path, we'll experience above peer group growth, rapid deleveraging and dividend coverage improvement. That path is highly visible to me. It was highly visible to him from our projects coming online in company and our commercial success.

So as I wrap up my introductory comments, I'd like to directly address statements and likely questions about where Targa should be with respect to its capital expenditures and free cash flow. As a long-term Targa investor, privileged to work closely with the Targa team, the Targa assets, the Targa customers and the Targa opportunities, I believe, we are in a very good spot. Our profile and timing will be different than peer companies simply because Targa has been blessed with an abundance of high-return strategic projects relative to our size over the last few years. We have creatively partnered, prioritized and funded those high-return strategic opportunities, pursuing them, we certainly should not have ignored them.

Now with high visibility beginning in the second half of 2019, such projects are coming online, highly utilized in creating a rapid increase in our cash flow situation, and we will continue to prioritize capital expenditures resulting in lower levels of CAPEX and even lower levels relative to our EBITDA. Targa is clearly on a path to join a short list of high-performing, scaled investment-grade midstream companies. And on that path, we'll experience above peer group growth, rapid deleveraging and dividend coverage improvement. With that, I'll now turn it over to Matt.

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Joe Bob, and good morning, everyone. Let's now get into some of the specifics of our record-setting 2018 and discuss how that translate into our positioning for 2019 and beyond. Overall, Targa's 2018 inlet volumes in the Permian increased 24% over the previous year, and 2018 total Field G&P increased 17% over the previous year. While producers have recently adjusted budgets and forecasts, commercial activity and production in many of our operating regions remains robust, and we expect activity levels to remain strong.

In our Permian region, we expect continued production growth in 2019 across both the Midland and Delaware Basins, despite the temporary delay of some completions as producers await infrastructure expansions to come online throughout 2019. In Permian Midland, our Johnson plant came online late September and was quickly highly utilized. And our 250 million cubic feet per day Hopson plant will begin operation in early second quarter and is also expected to be highly utilized at start-up. The next 250 million cubic feet per day Pembrook plant is expected to begin operations late in the second quarter.

In Permian Delaware, a substantial portion of the asset underpinned via deal with a large investment-grade company are completed or well under way. Our 250 million cubic feet per day Falcon plant remains on track to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019, and the 250 million cubic feet per day Peregrine plant is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. These additional plants across the Permian will be interconnected to our multiplant, multisystem footprint with a vast majority of the NGL volumes flowing through Grand Prix to our fractionators in Mont Belvieu. In the Badlands, our Little Missouri complex is operating at capacity, and our volumes at our facility would have been even higher if we had additional processing capacity.

Our Little Missouri Plant 4 is expected to be online in the second quarter of 2019 and will progressively ramp over the second half of the year. Our average crude oil gathered volumes in 2018 increased 29% over the prior year's average volumes. As producer well results continue to improve, we expect continued growth in 2019 for both crude and gas in the Badlands. Turning to the downstream business.

Grand Prix will be fully operational around mid-year, and volumes are expected to progressively ramp over the second half of this year. We are able to significantly expand Grand Prix's capacity with low-cost pump station additions incrementally as required, which further enhances the project's long-term value. We are ordering long lead items for the pipeline's second expansion phase, which will increase the capacity of the segment originating from the Permian by adding pump stations to approximately 450,000 barrels per day. The cost of this expansion is included in our 2019 CAPEX forecast.

Last week, we announced a low-cost extension of Grand Prix into the stack region of central Oklahoma. Grand Prix will interconnect to Williams' Bluestem pipeline in Kingfisher County, opening up additional access to the Conway NGL market and volumes from the DJ Basin. The further expansion of Grand Prix into the stack is an attractive extension of a highly strategic asset for Targa and will direct significant incremental NGLs over the long term from Williams and other third parties to Grand Prix and through our downstream assets in Mont Belvieu and Galena Park. This extension will have an initial capacity of approximately 120,000 barrels per day, with a target in-service of first-quarter 2021, and it's expected to cost approximately 200 million.

As part of this deal, Targa provides Williams with an initial option to purchase a 20% equity interest in one of Targa's Frac Train 7 or 8 in Mont Belvieu. That option may increase depending on incremental committed volumes. This deal is an example of leveraging our unique position, while also supporting our overall business and capital efficiency. Turning to our fractionation business.

Our facilities in Mont Belvieu continue to remain highly utilized during the fourth quarter, with full-year 2018 fractionation volumes increasing 20% over 2017. Our next new 100,000-barrel per day Train 6 fractionator will begin operations in the second quarter and is expected to be highly utilized at start-up. We expect the fractionation market to remain tight throughout 2019, as increasing Y-grade NGL supply is directed to Mont Belvieu from new pipelines. Construction is under way on two new Targa 110,000-barrel per day fractionation trains, Trains 7 and 8.

They are expected to be online in the first quarter and second quarter of 2020, respectively. Our fractionation expansions will accommodate a robust outlook for increasing Y-grade NGL supply to Mont Belvieu, which for us will largely be coming from Grand Prix. In our LPG export business, we are on track to complete our new pipeline between Mont Belvieu and Galena Park, and the rebuild of Dock 2 by mid-year 2019. We are moving forward with a planned expansion to increase our refrigeration capacity and load rates to further enhance our LPG export capabilities at our Galena Park facility.

In the third quarter of 2020, our current effective export capacity of seven million barrels per month will increase to approximately 11 million to 15 million barrels per month, depending on the mix of propane and butane demand, vessel size and availability of supply, among other things. The estimated cost of this expansion is included in our 2019 CAPEX forecast. Construction on the Gulf Coast Express residue gas pipeline or GCX continues, and the project remains essentially on time and on budget with the pipeline expected to be fully operational in the fourth quarter of this year, which will provide some much-needed residue gas takeaway from Waha and/or the Midland Basin to Agua Dulce. We're also very interested in seeing the Whistler project go forward, and continue to work to commercialize a project as this provides strategic residue takeaway for Targa and our customers.

While we continue to support the project, we don't expect to have any meaningful ownership interest or capital requirement for this project. Our crude and condensate splitter at our Channelview Terminal is in start-up, we are working on third-party contracts and commercialization of the asset after Vitol terminated its splitter contract in December of last year. We expect this to be a well performing asset for Targa. With that, I will now turn the call over to Jen to discuss Targa's results for the fourth quarter and present our 2019 operational and financial outlook.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Matt. Good morning, everyone. Targa's reported quarterly adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $376 million. Fourth-quarter EBITDA include a recognition of the remaining $32 million cash payment associated with the terminated splitter agreement.

Normalizing for the splitter deferred revenue recognition, adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter decreased 4% sequentially due to lower commodity prices and lower fractionation margin, partially offset by higher Badlands and Permian volumes. Dividend coverage for the fourth quarter was 0.91 times. During the fourth quarter, we recognized a $210 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge. The only remaining goodwill balance on our financials relates to the 2017 Permian acquisition.

In our gathering and processing segment, higher volumes and fee-based margin in our Badlands business along with higher Permian volumes were more than offset by lower commodity prices. Operating margin decreased $5.3 million in the fourth quarter when compared to the third quarter. Fourth-quarter Permian inlet volumes increased 7% over the third quarter from growth in each of our Permian Midland and Permian Delaware systems. The sequential increase in Permian inlet volumes was partially impacted by a temporary operational disruption during the quarter on a third-party NGL pipeline exiting the basin.

Our fourth-quarter crude oil gathered volumes in the Badlands increased 4% over the third quarter, driven by continued strong production growth across our dedicated acreage. Permian volumes gathered in the fourth quarter were down 9% over the third quarter due to temporary disruptions of third-party facilities. In our logistics and marketing segment, operating margin decreased $23 million in the fourth quarter when compared to the third quarter, driven predominantly by lower marketing gains, lower fractionation margin, and lower terminaling and storage throughput, primarily due to the divestiture of our Tacoma and Baltimore terminals, partially offset by higher domestic marketing margin and higher LPG export margin. As Matt mentioned, our fractionation facilities remained highly utilized, averaging about 450,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter, despite that temporary curtailment of Y-grade NGL supply volumes to Mont Belvieu from the previously mentioned operational disruption on a third-party NGL pipe.

At our Galena Park facility, LPG exports remained strong during the fourth quarter as we averaged 6.5 million barrels per month. We are very pleased with our full-year 2018 operational and financial performance. Full-year 2018 operating margin in our gathering and processing and downstream segments increased 24% and 16%, respectively, over 2017, and we exceeded our previously disclosed full-year 2018 adjusted EBITDA guidance. Moving to other finance-related matters.

The fair value of the earn-out payment for our Permian acquisition is currently estimated to be $308 million, with the payment payable in May 2019. The $21 million decrease in the contingent consideration compared to the third-quarter estimate was driven by a lower forecast of volumes, partially offset by a shorter discount period. During the fourth quarter, we executed additional hedges for Targa's percent of proceeds equity commodity position. Based on our estimate of current equity volumes from field gathering and processing, for full-year 2019, we have hedged approximately 75% of condensate, 75% of natural gas and 70% of NGLs, and we estimate that we've hedged approximately 45% of condensate, 40% of NGLs and 35% of natural gas volumes for 2020.

As Joe Bob mentioned, in January, we successfully issued an aggregate $1.5 billion of six and a half and six and seven-eighths percent senior notes due in July 2027 and January 2029, and we appreciate the tremendous support from our fixed-income investors. Net proceeds from the senior notes offering were used to redeem our November 2019 maturity, and substantially reduce borrowings under our TRP revolver. As we look at our maturity stack, we feel very well-positioned, given our next meaningful maturity is in May 2023. On a debt compliance basis, TRP's leverage ratio at the end of the fourth quarter was approximately 4.1 times versus a compliance covenant of 5.5 times.

Our consolidated reported debt-to-EBITDA ratio was approximately 4.9 times. Full-year 2018 net growth CAPEX was $2.7 billion, and net maintenance CAPEX was $128 million. Spending in the fourth quarter was higher than we estimated in November. Given the number of projects that we have under way, precision around timing of capital spend is more difficult than it typically will be, and more projects were completed in the fourth quarter than expected.

Yesterday, we announced that we entered into definitive agreements to sell a 45% interest in Targa Badlands LLC, the entity that holds all of Targa's assets in North Dakota to funds managed by GSO Capital Partners and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, collectively Blackstone, for $1.6 billion. We expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2009, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Under the terms of the executed agreements, Targa will continue to be the operator and will hold majority governance rights. Future growth capital is expected to be funded on a pro rata basis.

Badlands will pay a minimum quarterly distribution of Blackstone and to Targa based on their initial investments, and Blackstone's capital contributions will have a liquidation preference upon a sale of Badlands. This minority interest sale is in a growth satisfying a substantial portion of our estimated funding needs for 2019 and provides us with significant flexibility looking forward. Pro forma to the senior notes offering, the redemption of our November 2019 maturity and the anticipated proceeds from the Badlands sale, our consolidated liquidity as of year-end was approximately $4.3 billion. Pro forma for the Badlands sale, our compliance and consolidated reported debt-to-EBITDA metrics was 3.4 times and 4.3 times, respectively, at the end of the fourth quarter.

Let's now turn to our expectations for 2019, which assume NGL composite barrel prices to average $0.60 per gallon, crude oil prices to average $54 per barrel, and natural gas prices to average $3 per MMbtu for the year. Beginning with our gathering and processing segment, we expect total Permian natural gas inlet volumes for 2019 to average between 1.85 billion to 1.95 billion cubic feet per day, with the midpoint of the range representing a 20% increase in average 2019 Permian inlet volumes over the 2018 average. We expect Permian inlet volumes to sequentially ramp throughout 2019 as our new processing plants come online. We expect to average 2019 inlet volumes in Southoak and the Badlands to be higher than average 2018.

Collectively, we expect total field G&P natural gas inlet volumes for 2019 to average between 3.45 billion to 3.65 billion cubic feet per day, with the midpoint of the range representing an approximate 10% increase over 2018 average inlet. We also expect total crude gathered volumes in both the Badlands and the Permian to be higher on average in 2019 than average 2018. Downstream, we expect fractionation volumes to increase year over year, largely driven by growth in our Permian G&P volumes and the addition of Train 6. Pro forma for the 45% interest sale in Badlands which again is expected to close in the second quarter, we expect full-year 2019 adjusted EBITDA to be between $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion.

We expect 2019 quarterly adjusted EBITDA to benefit as our growth projects, including Permian and Badlands processing expansion, Train 6 and Grand Prix begin operations and ramp through the second half of the year. Our EBITDA outlook for 2019 is lower than the preliminary range that we published in November given, one, and the largest impact item, the 45% sale of the Badlands, which includes the minimum quarterly distribution of Blackstone ahead of Targa in a rapidly growing business; two, a lower commodity price forecast given the decrease in prices in mid-November, we did a revised plan for our board using a lower price deck; and three, lower volumes from reduced activity at that lower price deck. First-quarter adjusted EBITDA is expected to be sequentially lower than fourth-quarter 2018, and second-quarter EBITDA pro forma for the Badlands is expected to be the lowest quarter of 2019. EBITDA will meaningfully increase in the second half of the year as our growth projects come online and begin to ramp.

Operating expenses and corporate G&A expenses are expected to increase year over year as a result of the additional assets coming online. We expect full-year 2019 dividend coverage to be about 0.9 times assuming a flat $3.64 annual dividend with significantly higher coverage in the second half of 2019 than the first half. Our current 2019 net growth CAPEX estimate for announced projects is approximately $2.3 billion, inclusive of the additional pumps for Grand Prix, the expansion at Galena Park and the CAPEX associated with the Williams transaction versus what we published back in November, and also reduced spending in the Badlands from the minority interest sale. Full-year 2019 maintenance CAPEX is forecasted to be approximately $130 million.

Our line of sight to significantly ramping EBITDA in the back half of 2019, 2020 and beyond, will result in a stronger balance sheet, increasing dividend coverage and additional free cash flow. The long-term outlook for Targa is compelling and our focus remains on executing on our strategic priorities to increase long-term shareholder value. So with that, Tom, please open the line for questions. 

Questions and Answers:

Operator

[Operator instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Michael Blum from Wells Fargo. Your line is now open.

Michael Blum -- Wells Fargo Securities -- Analyst

Good morning, everyone. A couple of things here, then I'll jump back in the queue. I guess, a couple of questions on Badlands. Can you talk about what the MQD is to Blackstone? And then, can you just elaborate a little bit on the liquidation frac trends, if, I guess, if Blackstone wants to sell, what happens or if you want to sell? Anything you can just further expand upon that.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Sure. Obviously, we've got $1.6 billion of capital upfront, and we've said that there is an MQD ahead of Targa, a minimum quarterly distribution. And given this is a rapidly growing business that implies that the share distributions in the first couple of years is larger than the share of distributions after that, and that was important to allow Blackstone to derisk their investment and for us to maximize the upfront proceeds that we received. With regards to the liquidation preference, it's well outside the sort of five-year-plus investment horizon than investors typically think about, well outside of our planned period.

But there are options for us to repurchase the interest in the Badlands and there are also options whereby if there was a sale of the assets in a 100% sale, Blackstone would receive a preference in that liquidation to get their proceeds back first.

Michael Blum -- Wells Fargo Securities -- Analyst

OK. And then, will there be taxes paid? Is there like a gain on sale here with taxes? And if not, how does this impact your NOL? And when you think you would be a cash tax payer?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

We don't have a change to the longer-term outlook that we have in terms of when we will become a taxpayer because of this, Michael. The way that some of the benefits from some of the changes in tax legislation benefit us in the relative near years versus later on means that there really isn't much of a tax impact related to this transaction. So no change on the guidance, so we don't expect to be a cash taxpayer for some years now.

Michael Blum -- Wells Fargo Securities -- Analyst

OK, great. And then last question for me for now. So you didn't make any comment on kind of the longer-term guidance that you've provided for EBITDA. Should we assume that that is unchanged or is there a way to think about that in light of the change in '19?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I think from our perspective, the long-term outlook absolutely remains intact. We've now sold the 45% interest in the Badlands, which is a detractor from that longer-term outlook, but we've also announced the Williams transaction. So similar to when we put out the first long-term outlook in June of 2017, this isn't something that we expect to update on a monthly or quarterly or even semi-annual basis. But I think that you can tell from our remarks that the long-term outlook for our business is as strong as it's ever been and we're very much excited about it.

Michael Blum -- Wells Fargo Securities -- Analyst

Thank you.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Michael.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Shneur Gershuni from UBS. Your line is now open.

Shneur Gershuni -- UBS -- Analyst

Hi, good morning, guys. I guess to start off, I was wondering if we can sort of talk about the 2019 guide for today. I was wondering if you can sort of compare as apples-to-apples from where it was in November versus now? Obviously, there's a commodity revision, which makes sense. But I was wondering if you can sort of talk about some of the specifics, is there an adjustment for the canceled splitter, I mean, they gave you a payment upfront.

So have you adjusted that lower? What's the amount that you're assuming for Badlands? Should we see something for frac spreads? Just some of the details for us to effectively look at it on an apples-to-apples basis.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

We try to give you some color to do that, Shneur, in our scripted remarks, so I think that you hit a lot of the key components head on. The Badlands partial interest sale is the biggest delta when we look at what we put out today versus what we described in 2019, which was early November, which was a preliminary look at 2019. And then as we worked with our board under a lower price deck to basically redo the plan that we typically do in the fall, and then we saw lower prices in November and December, decided to redo that plan. What you're also seeing as a result of the lower commodity prices plus lower volumes related to that new plan.

Our perspective is that we will be able to manage the splitter for Targa and we will be able to generate margin for the splitter. And so there is some margin included or embedded in our 2019 EBITDA based on our view of how we can manage that asset for our benefit without the terminated contract.

Shneur Gershuni -- UBS -- Analyst

OK. Fair enough. Just turning over to CAPEX for a minute. It was revised upwards by about $300 million.

I recognize that CAPEX starts to step down next year after some of the big projects come into place. But there has been some, call it, 2020 and 2021 growth CAPEX creep over the last couple of quarters due to strong growth. We now have EMPs living within cash flows and recounts that it's kind of flattened. Do you see a slowing in CAPEX? Is there a likelihood that we won't see any further CAPEX creep for at least 2020?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Shneur, this is Joe Bob. Back on my opening remarks, I was trying to address that head on. As we have benefited from tremendous opportunities, we have had what you described as capital creep, I described it as capital blessings. Those are high return strategic investments that every investor looking under the covers would want us to make.

And I think most investors and analysts like you looking from the outside in, knowing what they are and when they're coming on, wanted us to make those investments. We've got terrific visibility of the cash flow that's going to be created with that, whether or like your team, you're modeling it from the bottom-up one project at a time with our comments of when they're coming on and that they're coming on highly utilized, or at the more top-down simplified calculation of it, which say what's that capital work in progress. It's $2.5 billion. Much of which comes in online in the second half at conservative multiples shows you the cash flow that's being generated.

We also described that we have been using discipline in prioritization, only doing the strategic in high return projects, and we will continue to do so. It's natural that we have a slug up because of the quality of our assets, the quality of the footprint and the Permian basis of that footprint. We have "caught up some," building two fractionators that once catches you up, building multiple plants in the Permian at the same time begins to catch you up. I think our comments says that we expected lower CAPEX in 2020 and even lower as a percent or as a ratio to that EBITDA.

I feel very good about that position. It's a terrific position. If you're comparing it to the other EMP companies and the peers, we should be slowing down slower than them because we had so many more opportunities. I'm -- that may have sound a little overly passionate, I do see the headlines, we did talk with investors about it.

Mostly, every time we talk to them because they want to understand how we feel about that opportunity set and the fact that to some extent, they're waiting a little longer for free cash flow. But in the meantime, they've experienced the growth. And now, they're going to experience the deleveraging and the rapid improvement in coverage. Did that address the question?

Shneur Gershuni -- UBS -- Analyst

It definitely does. I did have one final, I guess, kind of accounting-related type question. When we think about the Badlands asset sale. Based on your response to Mike, there doesn't seem to be any tax proceeds and so forth.

When we think about it from a cash flow statement perspective, first of all, is the agency is going to treat it completely as an equity infusion? And secondly, does it show up in investing cash flow or will it show up in financing cash flow given the structure with the MQDs and so forth?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

So as we work through the potential transaction, we obviously informed the rating agencies as we worked through different potential structures. And so our view is that both Moody's and S&P will treat it as -- will give it equity treatment.

Shneur Gershuni -- UBS -- Analyst

And will it show up as financing cash flow or will it show up as investing cash flow?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, Shneur, it's going to be consolidated. Since we operate in control, it's still going to be a consolidated entity but then with a minority interest cutback kind of how we handle our other consolidated entities with minority cutbacks.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

The usual NGL cutbacks.

Shneur Gershuni -- UBS -- Analyst

Got it. Perfect. Thank you very much, guys. I will jump back in the queue.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Jeremy Tonet from JP Morgan. Your line is now open.

Jeremy Tonet -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Good morning. Just wanted to touch on the Badlands transaction one last time, if I could. I was just wondering if you could expand a bit more as far as why 45% was the right level to go for in this deal as opposed to a small number or a bigger number? And kind of how you see that stacking up against ATM issuance at this point?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I think that everything you've seen us do over the last couple of years, Jeremy, is reflective of the fact that we think our equity is undervalued, particularly, when we look at the strength of our long-term outlook and the visibility that we have to that long-term outlook. So for Targa, when we first contemplated a potential minority interest sale in the Badlands, one of our key goals has always been to maximize the upfront proceeds that we receive to help derisk everything else that's going on at our company. And so that's why 45% seem like a great number. We would have been willing to sell up to 49% or we would have been willing to sell less if we didn't get a right valuation or a right structure.

But what Blackstone was able to do for us was to help us maximize those upfront proceeds in a structure that we're very comfortable with.

Jeremy Tonet -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

That's helpful. And you touched on a couple of different times in the call Targa is really growing into a fully integrated player in midstream from wellhead to exports there. And it seems like this enables you guys to win kind of new growth projects and capture things that give you better returns than may be others in the industry can do. So I was just wondering how you see the midstream industry evolving here? If others can't compete with you guys in winning these type of project, how do you think about industry consolidation progressing going forward?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

That's a really interesting way of asking the question. I think what I said is there are only a very few of us who look like that, and you all can list them. And guess what, they can compete with me, OK? That shortlist of players who have a gathering and processing footprint, a natural gas liquids pipeline, a presence at Mont Belvieu, that's quite competitive. But, for example, that large investment-grade energy player in the Delaware, I only consider folks that look like that and we did win that one.

The Williams transaction probably had some competition, we did win that one. We don't win all of them, but by beating that integrated player with that scale, I think, customer fit reputation, we're going to win our share, maybe more than our share, and then we get the blessing, the prioritizing opportunities. Our team is very focused on that over the course of this year and next year. How do we get the biggest bang for the buck and how do we work on more smaller projects and less larger projects.

But it's a function of a terrific footprint that now terrific integration and the reputation we've put in place with our customers.

Jeremy Tonet -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

That's all for me.. Thanks for taking my questions.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

OK, thanks.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Colton Bean from Tudor, Pickering, Holt. Your line is now open.

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

Just wanted to follow up on the commentary there around the 2020 and 2021 capital spend. The expectation of lower spend referenced to the preliminary guide of $1.8 billion, or is that more a reference to 2019 levels?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

I actually described '18 and '19, I -- I mean '19, '20, I believe, Colton, and if I didn't, that's what I meant. Yes, we're trying to have 2020 capital lower than 2019 capital. I don't think I went further than 2020. We believe we can do that.

We believe that that's natural. We've already been prioritizing our capital expenditures, but prioritized capital expenditures came in at a pretty high level, particularly relative to the EBITDA that we had in time. Now the additional good news is we've got a lot more EBITDA coming on at the end of 2019 and into 2020. We have even at a flat level or a slightly reduced level, that's less of a strain on the organization than the current level was at our current EBITDA.

We would like to get to that space of being free cash flow. We can't do that as quickly as a peer that doesn't have very many opportunities.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I don't think that our view has changed much either, Colton, that when you think about November that $1.8 billion aggregate number that we put out for a 2020 plus 2021 preliminary CAPEX that we really see that changing much based on what we have looking forward. So the Williams deal will add some incrementally to that a small amount, particularly when you think about the structure of that transaction and what it will bring to Targa on transport on Grand Prix and fractionation at Belvieu. And then that $1.8 billion also already included the other projects that we thought were in the near-term horizon, and that view hasn't changed at all in terms of incremental processing plants in an incremental frac.

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

Got it. And so given the change that we've seen on the upstream budget, no impact thus far to that $1.8 billion?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

No.

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

Yes. OK. And just circling back to Scott's commentary on Galena Park, I think as of Q3, you had mentioned the possibility of an expansion to maybe 10 million to 11 million barrels a month. It sounds like that's substantially higher.

So can you guess or provide a bit of commentary to what's allowing you to get to that 11 million to 15 million barrels a month?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. The first time we talked about expanding there was adding a 20-inch pipeline between Galena Park and Mont Belvieu to allow us to flow additional butane as long as -- as well as doing some dock work. This expansion we talked about today is adding refrigeration capacity, which is going to basically more effectively allows us to utilize those pipelines. So it's really depends on a customer demand and how much ultimate butane demand there is.

So it's a pretty wide range of 11 million to 15 million barrels a month to the extent there's more butane demand, we'd be at the high end of that range. To the extent there's less butane demand, we'd be at the low end of that range. There's really the next step to get us to that real next leg of significant expansion. So I think the refrigeration was a key piece to us.

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

OK. And just on the refrigeration, is that part of the capital increase that we've seen from that two to two-three?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

It is. Yes.

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

Got it. Thank you.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

And that was also included in the $1.8 billion for '20 and 2021. So that accelerated into 2020. So obviously that changes what the 2021 number may have been depending on when we had it staged.

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

That's helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Christine Cho from Barclays. Your line is now open.

Christine Cho -- Barclays -- Analyst

Hi, everyone. If I could start with the project with Williams that lateral that you're extending into the stack in the prepared remarks you talk about, is third-party opportunities tied to that? What is the opportunity set over there aside from the Williams volumes? Is it mostly new plants that haven't yet dedicated their volumes? Or are there some legacy plants that have contracts coming due in the beginning of next decade that could be fair game?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I'd say, it's both. There are some new plants going in, and we're having discussions with new customers up there about a potential dedication of their plants or volumes from the area. So there is some of that.

And then we're, of course, there's a portfolio of plants up there and in that region that have various contracts that may or will be rolling off over time, so we're having discussions with both of those parties.

Christine Cho -- Barclays -- Analyst

And the initial capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, well, can that be expanded to ballpark wise?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Well, I guess, it really depends on what line we ultimately lie up there and what kind of pumps we put on it. So we're still finalizing that. We expect the 120,000 to be a good initial capacity, but it ultimately depends on pipelines, not only that pipeline but also downstream of that as well.

Christine Cho -- Barclays -- Analyst

OK. And then your partner in some of the Permian processing plants has indicated an interest to sell their stake in the JV. How do you guys think about this? Do you find it necessary to own the whole thing if that partner wants to exit? Or are you fine letting the interest get sold to someone else given the multiple you just sold an interest for in the Badlands?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Our partner in the Permian is a terrific partnership. I think they say similar things about the Targa relationship. We worked very well with Pioneer, and have excellent communications. We work strategically well.

The partnership is strategic for both of us. I believe that most of their comments about potentially selling their interest in the Permian in response to questions on calls like these unless playing offense about it. Those discussions could occur. We don't have a driving force on either side of that equation.

And it's different. It's just different to think about how that might be monetized to Targa than how it might be up monetized to another player.

Christine Cho -- Barclays -- Analyst

Fair enough. Last question. Can you just remind me the outrigger payment, is that included in growth CAPEX, or is that incremental to growth CAPEX?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

It's incremental.

Christine Cho -- Barclays -- Analyst

OK, great. Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Tristan Richardson from SunTrust. Your line is now open.

Tristan Richardson -- SunTrust Robinson Humphrey -- Analyst

Hey, good morning, guys. Just thinking about corporate expenses year over year in 2019, fully appreciate the new projects will contribute to higher overall corporate cost. Should we think about the 4Q sequential step up is a general representation of how to think about '19 G&A costs?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I think for both OPEX and G&A, you should expect that year over year those costs will be up a fair amount, just given how many projects are being put into service. I think when you look at where we were in the fourth quarter and the third quarter, which was actually fairly flat from an OPEX perspective. On a go-forward rate, I would continue to have somewhat of a ramp in there on a Q1 to Q4 basis in 2019.

Tristan Richardson -- SunTrust Robinson Humphrey -- Analyst

Helpful. Go ahead, I'm sorry.

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

There's movement -- on any one quarter, you're referencing one quarter, I tend to look at a trend and look at it for -- a total year versus a total year, and then as new volumes, new things come on, it's a better way to look at than any one quarter or any one segment, sequentially.

Tristan Richardson -- SunTrust Robinson Humphrey -- Analyst

Sure. And then just, I think the implied multiple on the asset sales surprised a lot of folks and just sort of given the magnitude of the proceeds you guys expect compared with your outlook for CAPEX. Do you anticipate the proceeds effectively take you out of the ATM market for 2019?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I think the Badlands transaction was incredibly important for us to get done. And the fact that we were able to get it done on the timeline that we did was also very important. So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody that worked on it internally. To reiterate what I said earlier, Tristan, I think that we've demonstrated that we have a view that our equity is undervalued and have shown a strong desire to minimize how much equity that we issue at these levels.

As we look forward, we're incredibly well-positioned as we wait for a significant ramp in EBITDA, and we'll continue to proactively approach funding to the extent that we need to diminish leverage.

Tristan Richardson -- SunTrust Robinson Humphrey -- Analyst

Jen, thanks very much. Appreciate it.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Tristan.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Spiro Dounis from Credit Suisse. Your line is now open.

Spiro Dounis -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Hey, good morning. Just one more on Badlands, hopefully. Just to what degree where those assets constrained on growth prior to the JV? Just trying to get a sense of this new JV actually allows you to fund that asset more and grow Badlands faster. And to what degree does that offer you new opportunities to, I guess, develop egress-type long-haul assets out of the Bakken?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Since you said JV twice, we probably ought to clarify. We recently did another JV in the Badlands as you would recall, which is how we're building the current plant. It was constrained prior to construction. We're building that with Hess and that's a Badlands JV.

This additional investment by Blackstone is not changing the relationship of that first JV and it is providing funding, in my view, to the entire corporation. We're still going to pursue the attractive high-growth opportunities in the Badlands to the extent they are available. And we wish that that currently being constructed plant were up and running today because it is constrained. Does that help?

Spiro Dounis -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Yes. I appreciate the clarification there. Second one, maybe I had a follow-up on Tristan's, but I think by our numbers, it looks like Badlands, their proceeds largely get you kind of all the way through '19 from an equity standpoint. And I guess, are you guys done selling assets at this point? Or could we see do a little bit more but maybe from 1opportunistic reasons?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

We've tried to be very transparent, particularly as our capital program has increased to tell you what we're thinking, when we're thinking it. I think that transparency has been very important for all of our investors. At this time, we are not in the process of selling any other assets. It's our fiduciary responsibly, if anybody calls us and wants to take a look at any of our assets to consider it, but no, we don't have any active processes under way right now, Spiro.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

And Spiro, I hope as part of that transparency, what you also hear us say is the rapidly increasing cash flow. Second half of this year and into 2020, there's a whole lot to remove concern about funding. That's the best source. OK?

Spiro Dounis -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Yes, no, that was clear. Appreciate it. Thanks for the color, guys.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Danilo Juvane from BMO Capital Markets. Your line is now open.

Danilo Juvane -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Good morning and thank you. I had mostly follow-up questions. Firstly, Jen, with respect to guidance, do you see any visibility to potentially contract the splitter this year? Or are you fully embedding into guidance that the splitter will be running on a merchant basis?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I believe, we said in our scripted comments that we're working on both. So we're looking at commercialization of the asset, both for us and with third-party agreements. So it will -- may be a combination.

Danilo Juvane -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

But within guidance, what are you assuming, that it's merchant or fully contracted? Or...

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

It's a modest merchant assumption at this time.

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

We put in a conservative assumption. And part of the bread was, there was lower than the all-in payment that we expect to receive on a contracted basis. Current economics would actually imply that it would be higher than that. But we put in, just for start-up and timing and getting it ramped up, we put in a modest assumption below, kind of, below the current economics and below the previously contracted amount.

Danilo Juvane -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Thanks for that Matt. My second question is with respect to the Bakken JV. Can you again explain what the MQD guidance is as it relates to the EBITDA guidance impact for 2019?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

I think that what we said earlier is that because we received a significant upfront payment from Blackstone and because they're trying to derisk their investment as they move through time given the type of investor that they are. What that would imply with the minimum quarterly distribution, which they receive ahead of us, is that their share of distributions in the first couple of years is larger than what they would receive on a percentage basis thereafter. And that's fully incorporated into our 2019 guidance.

Danilo Juvane -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Got it, OK. Thank you. Those are my questions.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

OK, thanks.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Becca Followill from U.S. Capital Advisors. Your line is now open.

Becca Followill -- U.S. Capital Advisors -- Analyst

Good morning, guys. First for all, I think, it's a change that you don't expect to have an equity stake, can you talk about the rationale for that at this point?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. That project, as we said all along, is a strategic project for us with the connectivity to our gas plants in the Midland, good takeaway from the Permian. Clearly, we're aligned to get more residue takeaway underwritten and done out of the Permian, so we can continue to make money on a G&P side, Grand Prix, fractionation and etc. There are other ways to support that project.

So we are still working with the other potential customers and equity owners to support and get that over the line. You don't have to have an equity interest which will then bring capital required with that to support the project. So we're still working with them and hope to get that pushed over the line. But we -- just to be clear, we do expect no funding for '19 and don't expect to have any meaningful ownership equity in it.

Becca Followill -- U.S. Capital Advisors -- Analyst

But you originally were going to be the operator of that pipe, is that no longer the case?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

I'd say, in our initial discussions, when we announced the deal, there's been changes for what partners have come in and come out. So there's been some back and forth on those items such as operating construction. Those details were being ironed out. So we're still negotiating those in coming to the right answer for that.

So we were working on those all along the way. And so what we wanted to say here is because CAPEX is a concern for investors on projects that you don't need to anticipate any CAPEX relating to this project.

Becca Followill -- U.S. Capital Advisors -- Analyst

Super. And then on -- one more on the Badlands. I know these are good assets and they're expected to grow, but we've all been through way too many cycles. So what happens in the event that oil does drop precipitously and these assets don't perform, are you obligated to pay Blackstone first, and then Targa second?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

The part of the attractiveness of a fee-based system like the Badlands, Becca, is that we were able to demonstrate growth even during, at least, the most recent cycles that we've experienced and that helped to get our potential partners comfortable with the asset profile there. The minimum quarterly distribution to the extent that there are funds available to be paid out then Blackstone will be paid out first. To the extent that there aren't then those will accrue.

Becca Followill -- U.S. Capital Advisors -- Analyst

Super. And then the last one is just on you talked about the rating agency treatment a bit, can be treated as equity. But in light of the CAPEX budget going higher and EBITDA estimates coming down for '19 and I think covers looking fairly low. Any thoughts on how the rating agencies are thinking about this? Are they willing to bridge you to 2020 when things look maturely better? If you can comment on that.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

We try to be incredibly transparent with the rating agencies over the last couple of years. We visited them more than we have in prior history. We've also tried to keep them informed and appraised of any developments as we've moved through. So I think at this point, we don't see any difference.

We frankly spend a lot more time discussing with them that rapid EBITDA growth that we see back half in '19 into 2020 and 2021, and what that means for the overall enterprise.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

And I'll just remember -- remind everyone, they get forecast for that. And then when we go into next time and the forecasts are even better, and we go into next time and the forecasts are even better, we've got pretty good credibility with them, on the rating agency forecast, which you could probably assume are at least among the conservative part of our range. That credibility with the rating agencies, when we walk in, they say that looks great, thanks again, appreciate the dialogue and sometimes they say, you are not our problem.

Becca Followill -- U.S. Capital Advisors -- Analyst

Super. Thank you, guys.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Becca.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

OK, thanks.

Operator

Our last question comes from the line of Craig Shere from Tuohy Brothers. Your line is now open.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

Hi. Good morning. So just want to get clear on the EBITDA bridge relative to prior guidance. So the total backing out on the splitter combined with the disproportionate versus 45% interest of EBITDA accruing to Blackstone because there's minimum quarterly payments is a significant part of the bridge that would guide us to lower guidance net of the lower commodity deck?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

We also said the only thing I think you may have left out is implied is that we had gone back, really bottom-up to try to do the best we could to understand what producer customers and downstream customers were doing in the new environment after the late November and December commodity price drop. Now that's an effort that we were able to do until a little past the middle of January when we started preparing it for our February board meeting. Just as our producer customers were doing the same thing, I think, we've done a reasonably conservative job on that. And that that change in activity associated with the new commodity price levels has been baked in the best we can.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

Right. So that left the volumetric issue. So would you...

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

No. With the volumetric issue, but had a Delta P in our best estimate of Delta V.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

Right. Now so my question is in terms of proportionality, would you say that the volumetric piece of it is perhaps in the area of the downdraft on the splitter?

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Craig, I want to give more color on the individual pieces, we've tried to frame for you the key deltas. No. 1, clearly, being the Badlands 45% minority interest sale. After that, we've got the Delta V and the Delta P.

As Matt answered earlier on the splitter, we are assuming modest margin for that asset in 2019. Frankly, I think, we think that we can outperform potentially versus underperform depending on market conditions, but that's also an assumption that's made in there.

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

And we don't have it completely up and running yet either.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Correct.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

Understood. On an ongoing basis this all, obviously, skews the EBITDA growth even more out to the next couple of years versus '19, in terms of your -- you're going to get more proportional EBITDA from the Badlands, eventually, something will be done with splitter. As we would expect that that proportional ramp to be much harder than previously?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. I think that's right with those items you outlined plus with the Williams deal. That's additional margin that's going to show up later as well.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

OK. And now -- and I apologize if I'm reading the tables wrong. But was there a big shift in Southoak volumes to Centrahoma JV? It looked like on a net basis, we had a drop sequentially though on a gross basis, volumes were up?

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

With some ethane rejection numbers going on in there too.

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, there is. Yes, I mean, we brought on Hickory Hills in Q4. So there could be some noise around the start-up of Hickory Hills and rejection recovery related that we're being on inspect for takeaway issues in that. I'll look into that a little bit more but with increased volumes there.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

There are moving pieces, the sequential may have some interesting numbers. It didn't jump out at me, but I often look at Oklahoma together. I would say that if you're seeing particular noise of those two things, the Hickory Hills start-up and changes in that rejection because it was moving around a bit.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

But we'll follow-up you -- with you, Craig, if there's anything different than that, but I think that's the answer.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

Great. And my last question, just some clarity on longer-term volume perspective today versus third quarter. Do you still see a late 2020 or at least 2021 filling up of the initial 300,000 a day on Grand Prix still on the table?

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. What we said was 250,000 barrels at some point in 2020. So I think we feel...

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Good and better about that.

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Even better about that. This is the second, kind of, time we've talked about adding pumps and getting potentially up to that 450,000-barrel capacity. So I think we feel better about that guidance, although, we haven't updated that just to say we feel better about it.

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

OK, great. I appreciate the time.

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

OK, thanks.

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Thank you .

Operator

And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference over to Sanjay Lad.

Sanjay Lad -- Director of Investor Relations

Thanks to everyone that was on the call this morning, and we appreciate your interest in Targa Resources. I will be available after the call for any questions you may have. Thank you. Have a great day.

Operator

[Operator signoff]

Duration: 67 minutes

Call Participants:

Sanjay Lad -- Director of Investor Relations

Joe Bob Perkins -- Chief Executive Officer

Matt Meloy -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Jen Kneale -- Chief Financial Officer

Michael Blum -- Wells Fargo Securities -- Analyst

Shneur Gershuni -- UBS -- Analyst

Jeremy Tonet -- J.P. Morgan -- Analyst

Colton Bean -- Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Company -- Analyst

Christine Cho -- Barclays -- Analyst

Tristan Richardson -- SunTrust Robinson Humphrey -- Analyst

Spiro Dounis -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst

Danilo Juvane -- BMO Capital Markets -- Analyst

Becca Followill -- U.S. Capital Advisors -- Analyst

Craig Shere -- Tuohy Brothers Investment Research -- Analyst

More TR

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Federated Investors Inc (FII) Receives $27.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Federated Investors Inc (NYSE:FII) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.25.

FII has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $26.00 price target on Federated Investors and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 29th. ValuEngine raised Federated Investors from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 27th. Gabelli initiated coverage on Federated Investors in a research note on Sunday, December 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised Federated Investors from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank decreased their price target on Federated Investors from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 16th.

Get Federated Investors alerts:

NYSE:FII traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 972,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 901,534. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Federated Investors has a twelve month low of $22.06 and a twelve month high of $35.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82.

Federated Investors (NYSE:FII) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 24th. The asset manager reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Federated Investors had a return on equity of 29.33% and a net margin of 19.40%. The firm had revenue of $307.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.68 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Federated Investors will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 8th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 7th. Federated Investors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.19%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Investors during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Federated Investors by 627.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Bremer Trust National Association purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Investors during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Federated Investors by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,047 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Riverhead Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Federated Investors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $106,000. 87.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Federated Investors Company Profile

Federated Investors, Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides its services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, banking or thrift institutions, investment companies, pension and profit sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, and registered investment advisors.

Featured Article: Why is cost of goods sold important?

Analyst Recommendations for Federated Investors (NYSE:FII)

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now

tags:BTG,WLFC,SOXX,CFNB,WERN,

Call it global warming. Call it climate change. Maybe it’s a nuance, or maybe your political stance determines how you feel about this debate. 24/7 Wall St. has tracked investment in clean energy and renewable energy for years.

It turns out that 2016 broke the growth cycle for investing in clean energy — and then some.

With a new Trump administration about to take office, it looks like there is a night and day views on climate change versus the Obama administration. That makes this report something which likely cannot be ignored. After all, it was only known for less than two months that Hillary Clinton’s clean energy trends would not continue what was seen under the Obama administration. Still, it’s a big world and many other nations outside of the United States have a serious role in clean energy.

The news at the start of 2017 is showing a stark difference for 2016. Bloomberg New Energy Finance now shows that the total dollars of new investments into clean energy fell a whopping 18% down to $287.5 billion in 2016. While the prior year was a record of $348.5 billion, what stands out here now is that the 2016 figure is also represented as being 9% lower than the $315 billion invested into clean energy in 2014.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: B2Gold Corp(BTG)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Max Byerly]

    Here’s how other cryptocurrencies have performed during the last day:

    Get Bitgem alerts: Zcash (ZEC) traded 7.4% lower against the dollar and now trades at $243.26 or 0.03355620 BTC. Bitcoin Gold (BTG) traded 6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $41.47 or 0.00572057 BTC. Bitcoin Private (BTCP) traded up 1.3% against the dollar and now trades at $22.93 or 0.00316296 BTC. ZenCash (ZEN) traded 7.9% lower against the dollar and now trades at $29.94 or 0.00412942 BTC. ZClassic (ZCL) traded down 2.8% against the dollar and now trades at $11.31 or 0.00155982 BTC. BitcoinZ (BTCZ) traded 0.5% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0019 or 0.00000026 BTC. Hush (HUSH) traded 0.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.83 or 0.00011450 BTC. Zero (ZER) traded up 13% against the dollar and now trades at $0.58 or 0.00008000 BTC. VoteCoin (VOT) traded 3.3% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0127 or 0.00000175 BTC. Bitcoin Interest (BCI) traded up 0.2% against the dollar and now trades at $4.83 or 0.00066692 BTC.

    Bitgem Profile

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Deutsche Bank reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of BTG (LON:BTG) in a report released on Wednesday.

    A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BTG. Shore Capital upgraded BTG to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 26th. Peel Hunt restated a hold rating and set a GBX 700 ($9.32) price objective on shares of BTG in a research report on Wednesday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on BTG from GBX 750 ($9.99) to GBX 680 ($9.05) and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on BTG from GBX 775 ($10.32) to GBX 900 ($11.98) and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 15th. Finally, Numis Securities reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 840 ($11.18) price target on shares of BTG in a research report on Tuesday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of GBX 745.83 ($9.93).

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    B2Gold (TSE:BTO) (NYSE:BTG) had its price objective trimmed by Pi Financial from C$5.25 to C$5.10 in a research report released on Friday.

    A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BTO. Canaccord Genuity lowered their target price on shares of B2Gold from C$7.00 to C$6.50 in a research note on Tuesday, July 24th. National Bank Financial lowered their target price on shares of B2Gold from C$7.00 to C$6.50 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Saturday, July 14th. Scotiabank reissued an outperform rating and issued a C$5.00 target price on shares of B2Gold in a research note on Monday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of B2Gold from C$5.00 to C$4.50 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, B2Gold presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of C$5.38.

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    B2Gold Corp. (TSE:BTO) (NYSE:BTG) – Research analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q3 2018 earnings per share estimates for shares of B2Gold in a report released on Wednesday, August 15th. National Bank Financial analyst D. Demarco anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $0.05 for the quarter. National Bank Financial currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $6.50 target price on the stock. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for B2Gold’s FY2020 earnings at $0.30 EPS.

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Here is how other cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:

    Get Bitgem alerts: Zcash (ZEC) traded 2.6% lower against the dollar and now trades at $110.45 or 0.01761262 BTC. Bitcoin Gold (BTG) traded up 3.3% against the dollar and now trades at $25.07 or 0.00399774 BTC. Horizen (ZEN) traded down 3.4% against the dollar and now trades at $13.68 or 0.00218132 BTC. Bitcoin Private (BTCP) traded down 0.9% against the dollar and now trades at $2.49 or 0.00039650 BTC. Bitcoin Interest (BCI) traded down 4.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.96 or 0.00015281 BTC. ZClassic (ZCL) traded 0.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $3.20 or 0.00051056 BTC. BitcoinZ (BTCZ) traded 1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0006 or 0.00000009 BTC. Zero (ZER) traded 5.1% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.14 or 0.00002203 BTC. Hush (HUSH) traded 2.9% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.10 or 0.00001645 BTC. VoteCoin (VOT) traded down 6.4% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0034 or 0.00000054 BTC.

    Bitgem Profile

  • [By Logan Wallace]

    A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for BTG (LON: BTG):

    9/7/2018 – BTG had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Numis Securities Ltd. 9/7/2018 – BTG had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Shore Capital. 9/4/2018 – BTG had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Peel Hunt. 9/4/2018 – BTG had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG. They now have a GBX 645 ($8.40) price target on the stock. 8/21/2018 – BTG had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.. They now have a GBX 650 ($8.47) price target on the stock. 8/9/2018 – BTG had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Peel Hunt. They now have a GBX 640 ($8.34) price target on the stock. 8/9/2018 – BTG had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Shore Capital. 8/1/2018 – BTG had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Peel Hunt. 7/19/2018 – BTG had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Deutsche Bank AG.

    Shares of BTG stock opened at GBX 558.50 ($7.27) on Monday. BTG plc has a one year low of GBX 559.82 ($7.29) and a one year high of GBX 784 ($10.21).

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Willis Lease Finance Corporation(WLFC)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    Willis Lease Finance Co. (NASDAQ:WLFC) CEO Charles F. Iv Willis sold 4,718 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.19, for a total transaction of $147,154.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 706,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,021,949.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund(SOXX)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Jim Crumly]

    All the major sectors were up today, with materials rebounding from recent weakness; the SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (NYSEMKT:XME) jumped 1.5%. Semiconductor stocks were one of the few areas of market softness, with the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) falling 0.8% on investor concerns over some earnings reports this week.

  • [By Jim Crumly]

    Utility stocks were the weakest sector, with the Utilities Select SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLU) falling 1.4%. Semiconductor stocks also helped pull the market down after some analyst downgrades; the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) dropped 1.6%. 

  • [By Jim Crumly]

    Technology was the weakest sector, with biotech and semiconductor stocks in particular having a tough day. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEMKT:XBI) tumbled 3.2% and the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) lost 2.4%.

  • [By Nicholas Rossolillo]

    Part of the reasoning behind Morgan Stanley's cautious outlook on semiconductors is the stellar run chip stocks have had since 2016. The sector -- as measured by the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) -- has handily beaten the broader stock market.

  • [By Ethan Ryder]

    Madrona Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,356 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the quarter. iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF comprises approximately 1.2% of Madrona Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Madrona Financial Services LLC’s holdings in iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: California First National Bancorp(CFNB)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Shane Hupp]

    NBT Bancorp (OTCMKTS: CFNB) and California First National Bancorp (OTCMKTS:CFNB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Top 5 Clean Energy Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Werner Enterprises, Inc.(WERN)

Advisors' Opinion:
  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Werner Enterprises (WERN)

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  • [By Logan Wallace]

    Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan lessened its holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,510 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,040 shares during the period. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan’s holdings in Werner Enterprises were worth $395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

  • [By Max Byerly]

    Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) and Universal Logistics (NASDAQ:ULH) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

  • [By Stephan Byrd]

    BidaskClub downgraded shares of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.