Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Price Target Raised to $315.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $291.00 to $315.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on TRGP. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 target price on Targa Resources in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $262.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.93.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.8%

TRGP opened at $272.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. Targa Resources has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $280.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.91.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 10.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.56%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at $17,019,292.32. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,291,012,000 after buying an additional 1,620,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Targa Resources by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,668,233 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,337,289,000 after acquiring an additional 162,878 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,867,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,078,497,000 after acquiring an additional 45,495 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $735,758,000. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,389,006 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $625,272,000 after purchasing an additional 572,562 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.