Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $262.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Targa Resources traded as high as $233.28 and last traded at $231.9830, with a volume of 111145 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.35.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Targa Resources from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total value of $498,327.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,356,748.81. The trade was a 8.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 157.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,931 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 6.7% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,555 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 15.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,686 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.81 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $196.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.60.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 10.88%. On average, research analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.57%.

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.