Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $192.00 to $220.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Targa Resources traded as high as $233.28 and last traded at $231.9830, with a volume of 111145 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $231.35.

TRGP has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Targa Resources from $207.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $226.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total value of $498,327.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,561 shares in the company, valued at $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 143,904 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $24,110,000 after purchasing an additional 7,497 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 137.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 66,636 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 38,626 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 682,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $114,313,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Targa Resources by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 484,462 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,167,000 after buying an additional 22,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Targa Resources by 13.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,368 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $24,325,000 after buying an additional 17,457 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $49.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. Equities analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.57%.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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

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