Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Price Target Raised to $224.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $190.00 to $224.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Argus upgraded Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Targa Resources from $153.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $147.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $176.50.

Targa Resources Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TRGP opened at $207.34 on Wednesday. Targa Resources has a 1 year low of $81.03 and a 1 year high of $209.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.27. The company has a market cap of $45.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.49, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources will post 6.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total transaction of $5,709,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,793,393.07. This represents a 26.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total value of $23,329,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 110,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,181,399.10. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 185,760 shares of company stock valued at $30,026,712 in the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the second quarter worth approximately $2,323,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 215.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,478,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Targa Resources by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 444,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $49,783,000 after purchasing an additional 27,164 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 1st quarter worth $1,151,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter worth $11,042,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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.