Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $298.7059.

Several research analysts have weighed in on TRGP shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Targa Resources from $333.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $291.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.2%

Targa Resources stock opened at $288.38 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $275.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.39. Targa Resources has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $307.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 13.55% and a return on equity of 69.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 11.23 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $870,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 62,292 shares in the company, valued at $18,079,007.16. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total value of $719,208.00. Following the sale, the director owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,195.43. This represents a 61.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 34,805 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 12,640 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Targa Resources by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 820,310 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $151,331,000 after purchasing an additional 53,413 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in Targa Resources by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 230,592 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $57,816,000 after purchasing an additional 62,652 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 164.1% in the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 33,641 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,245,000 after purchasing an additional 20,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,867,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,078,497,000 after purchasing an additional 45,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

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.