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

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $298.00 to $327.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Targa Resources traded as high as $253.69 and last traded at $253.6810, with a volume of 233229 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $245.65.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on TRGP. Mizuho upped their target price on Targa Resources from $207.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total transaction of $7,548,696.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 305,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,043,815.68. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 1,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.30, for a total transaction of $311,618.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 77,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,677,654.20. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock valued at $24,692,134. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after buying an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 157.4% during 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. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 11.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 4.1% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,669 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Targa Resources by 6.3% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 46.57%.

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.