Most investors buy high-yield dividend stocks to collect their generous income streams. However, some add to their appeal by complementing their above-average dividends with equally compelling growth prospects. Those dual fuels enable them to generate higher total returns, which can make them into even bigger winners for investors.
One stock that offers both a big-time yield and high-octane growth prospects is midstream company Targa Resources (TRGP 1.93%). What makes it currently stand out is that it has several needle-moving expansion projects on track to start up later this year. That near-term catalyst could give its stock a big boost in the second half of this year.
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Navigating a tight situation
Targa Resources offers income investors an eye-popping 9.4%-yielding dividend. That payout, however, is on shaky ground at the moment, since Targa pays out virtually all its cash flow to support the current dividend level. The company has had to be creative to get the funding needed to expand its operations.
The company has left no stone unturned in its search for financing. Early last year, for example, the company entered into a $1.1 billion development joint venture with a private equity company to help finance three of its expansion projects. Meanwhile, Targa has also sold several assets, including a 45% stake in its gathering and processing operations in the Bakken Shale for $1.6 billion earlier this year.
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Getting ready to stomp on the gas
All that wheeling and dealing is about to pay off for Targa Resources. The company is nearing an inflection point because it has several large-scale growth projects about to enter service. Those expansions should drive significant cash flow growth in the second half of 2019.
One of its largest projects is the Grand Prix NGL pipeline, which will transport natural gas liquids from both the fast-growing Permian Basin and the STACK/SCOOP region of Oklahoma to a processing hub in Mont Belvieu, Texas. That pipeline will enter full service during the third quarter of this year, providing Targa with a big near-term uptick in cash flow.
In addition, the company is one of several partners helping fund the construction of Kinder Morgan's (KMI -0.32%) Gulf Coast Express pipeline, which will transport natural gas from the Permian Basin to the Texas Gulf Coast. Construction on that project is well under way, which leads Kinder Morgan to believe it will enter service in October.
Meanwhile, Targa Resources is also wrapping up construction on several smaller projects. In the Bakken Shale, for example, it's working with Hess Midstream Partners (HESM) to build the Little Missouri 4 natural gas processing plant. Targa and Hess Midstream expect this project to be online early in the third quarter. Targa also has several gas processing plants and related infrastructure under construction in the Permian Basin that will start up this year. Its Hopson Plant already began service during the second quarter, while Pembrook should be online early in the third quarter and Falcon should start up by year-end. Finally, the company just finished construction on its six NGL processing facility in Mont Belvieu during the second quarter.
High-octane growth ahead
The start-up of all these expansion projects should significantly boost Targa's earnings and cash flow over the next few quarters. As that occurs, it will help improve Targa's dividend payout and leverage ratios. That should help lift the weight of worries currently holding down Targa's stock, which could send it skyward in the second half of this year.
