Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group opened a new position in Targa Resources (TRGP) of 11,026 shares (≈$1.85M) in Q3, and institutional investors now own 92.13% of the stock with large stakes held by Vanguard and Norges Bank.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely positive—TRGP has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $240.79, and several firms have raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $298).
• Recent operating/market highlights: TRGP beat EPS estimates ($2.51 vs. $2.35) while missing revenue slightly, has a market cap of about $50.8B, pays a $4.00 annual dividend (yield ~1.7%), and insiders sold roughly $24.7M of stock last quarter.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,026 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,847,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter valued at $708,366,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Targa Resources by 441.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 675,352 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $117,565,000 after buying an additional 550,591 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 306.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 601,370 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $104,686,000 after acquiring an additional 453,460 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,755,169,000 after acquiring an additional 422,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Targa Resources by 290.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 503,770 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $87,696,000 after acquiring an additional 374,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TRGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $213.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $226.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $266.00 to $298.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.79.

Targa Resources Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE TRGP opened at $236.49 on Thursday. Targa Resources, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $250.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $208.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.10.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion during 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, analysts predict that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In related news, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 305,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,043,815.68. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total value of $4,006,100.00. Following the completion of 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 104,929 shares of company stock valued at $24,692,134 over the last quarter. 1.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Targa Resources 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.

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