Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $148.36.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $153.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In related news, Director Paul W. Chung sold 916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.35, for a total transaction of $124,896.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 238,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,531,882.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Targa Resources news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.06, for a total value of $408,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,603 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,027,784.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul W. Chung sold 916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.35, for a total value of $124,896.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 238,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,531,882.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 175,534 shares of company stock valued at $26,815,021 over the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 2,220.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Rogco LP purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the first quarter worth about $56,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:TRGP opened at $165.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $151.48 and its 200 day moving average is $133.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. Targa Resources has a fifty-two week low of $81.03 and a fifty-two week high of $167.79.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.