Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts broadly favor Targa Resources: Nineteen brokerages give the stock a consensus “Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $310.88 versus the reported price of $284.72.
• Targa reported quarterly EPS of $3.54, beating the $2.83 consensus estimate, although revenue of $4.44 billion fell short of the $4.90 billion forecast. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $11.32.
• Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company, while insiders sold 7,216 shares worth $2.13 million over the last quarter. Targa also pays a $1.25 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.8% annualized yield.

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $310.8824.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $335.00 price target on Targa Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. US Capital Advisors lowered Targa Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wolfe Research set a $335.00 price objective on Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on Targa Resources from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Targa Resources from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director S Davis sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total value of $719,208.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $458,195.43. This trade represents a 61.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paul Chung sold 1,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.11, for a total transaction of $537,735.76. Following the sale, the director owned 44,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,028,840. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,216 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,634. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TRGP. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,832,687 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,586,077,000 after purchasing an additional 291,114 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 45,495 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Targa Resources by 21.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,025,248 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $811,190,000 after buying an additional 539,582 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Targa Resources by 28.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,151,993 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $790,299,000 after buying an additional 688,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $735,758,000. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Targa Resources Stock Down 0.0%

TRGP stock opened at $284.72 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $281.48 and a 200 day moving average of $263.69. The firm has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.72. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $307.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 69.26% and a net margin of 13.55%. On average, research analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp. NYSE: TRGP is a midstream energy infrastructure company that gathers, processes, transports and fractionates natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations connect producers with downstream markets and include natural gas gathering and processing, NGL fractionation, storage, transportation and marketing, as well as crude oil gathering and logistics.

The company operates an integrated network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionation facilities, storage assets and export infrastructure across the United States.

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