Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $213.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $196.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $224.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Targa Resources stock opened at $204.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $43.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.91. Targa Resources has a 52-week low of $144.14 and a 52-week high of $211.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $184.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.94.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 51.87% and a net margin of 9.35%. On average, research analysts expect that Targa Resources will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.21, for a total transaction of $3,444,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,139 shares in the company, valued at $3,812,557.19. The trade was a 47.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TRGP. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,034 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Targa Resources by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,440 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,460 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 33,247 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Company Profile

Targa Resources Corporation (NYSE: TRGP) is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers.

The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S.