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

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $176.50.

Several brokerages have commented on TRGP. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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 shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, US Capital Advisors downgraded Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of TRGP opened at $194.34 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 2.28. Targa Resources has a one year low of $81.03 and a one year high of $209.87.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.17. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.25%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,703,175.82. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total transaction of $5,709,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 82,979 shares in the company, valued at $15,793,393.07. This represents a 26.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 183,260 shares of company stock worth $29,661,212 over the last three months. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRGP. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $7,206,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 524,336 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $77,607,000 after buying an additional 48,600 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Targa Resources by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,572 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,009,000 after buying an additional 10,388 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Targa Resources during the third quarter valued at about $145,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 3.3% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 3,131 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.