Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Given New $298.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $266.00 to $298.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $241.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $207.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, January 9th. 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 report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.79.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of TRGP opened at $243.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $202.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.06. Targa Resources has a one year low of $144.14 and a one year high of $250.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $52.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.84.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 65.48% and a net margin of 10.88%.The business had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Targa Resources will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 1,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.30, for a total value of $311,618.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,094 shares in the company, valued at $17,677,654.20. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 51,553 shares of company stock valued at $11,707,455 in the last ninety days. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

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

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.