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

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) shares gapped up prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $226.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $192.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total transaction of $4,006,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,938 shares in the company, valued at $7,311,246.96. The trade was a 35.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $311,618.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 77,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,677,654.20. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 51,553 shares of company stock worth $11,707,455 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Targa Resources by 548.8% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 224,984 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $41,510,000 after purchasing an additional 190,306 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 104.2% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the last quarter. CacheTech Inc. purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 180.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,949 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 12,846 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Targa Resources Price Performance

The company 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21.

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. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.57%.

About Targa Resources

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.