Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $226.00 and last traded at $222.7550, with a volume of 35589 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $223.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TRGP. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.50.

Targa Resources Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $48.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.19%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 157.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,931 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 260.2% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 128,911 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $22,526,000 after purchasing an additional 93,119 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 57.1% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 476 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,280 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Targa Resources

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

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