Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $266.00 to $298.00. The stock had previously closed at $239.61, but opened at $247.15. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Targa Resources shares last traded at $239.1620, with a volume of 274,087 shares.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Targa Resources from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 1,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.30, for a total value of $311,618.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 77,094 shares in the company, valued at $17,677,654.20. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $7,548,696.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 305,163 shares in the company, valued at $73,043,815.68. The trade was a 9.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 83,090 shares of company stock valued at $19,256,152 over the last ninety days. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

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

Targa Resources Trading Down 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $52.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

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