Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $226.00 to $255.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Targa Resources traded as high as $253.69 and last traded at $253.6810, with a volume of 233229 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $245.65.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on TRGP. Truist Financial began coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Targa Resources from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Targa Resources from $248.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Targa Resources news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 305,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,043,815.68. This trade represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lindsey Cooksen sold 435 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,704,172.40. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock valued at $24,692,134. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,755,169,000 after purchasing an additional 422,075 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 9.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,291,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 162,878 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 45,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $735,758,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $53.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.20, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $231.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.80.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

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