Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $167.80 and last traded at $167.30, with a volume of 21887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on TRGP shares. Argus raised shares of Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $153.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.79.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market cap of $36.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.90.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 23.98%. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 1,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.02, for a total value of $160,140.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 52,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,898,969.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 1,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.02, for a total value of $160,140.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 52,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,898,969.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total transaction of $23,329,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 110,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,181,399.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 175,534 shares of company stock worth $26,815,021. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRGP. Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,925 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Targa Resources by 9.8% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 934 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,911 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its position in Targa Resources by 3.4% in the second quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS increased its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 10,107 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

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.