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

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $266.00 to $298.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Targa Resources traded as high as $250.00 and last traded at $237.8730, with a volume of 264972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.80.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Targa Resources from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.79.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, Director Lindsey Cooksen sold 435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.72, for a total value of $100,798.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,670 shares in the company, valued at $2,704,172.40. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares in the company, valued at $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 51,553 shares of company stock valued at $11,707,455 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Peoples Financial Services CORP. acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the third quarter worth $34,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Targa Resources Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.06. The stock has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.