Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Earns Sector Outperform Rating from Analysts at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a sector outperform rating and a $218.00 target price on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on TRGP. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. US Capital Advisors downgraded Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $190.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.86.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of TRGP opened at $193.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.30. Targa Resources has a fifty-two week low of $81.03 and a fifty-two week high of $209.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $189.18 and a 200 day moving average of $161.27.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 27.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total value of $5,709,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,793,393.07. This trade represents a 26.55 % 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, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.74, for a total value of $621,812.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,703,175.82. The trade was a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,106,591 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,235,927,000 after purchasing an additional 633,589 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Targa Resources by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,717,487 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $843,680,000 after acquiring an additional 97,583 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,303,522 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $296,647,000 after acquiring an additional 271,444 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,331,503 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $197,076,000 after acquiring an additional 14,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,257,613 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $186,139,000 after purchasing an additional 96,268 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.