Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Targa Resources, Inc. $TRGP

Key Points

• Transamerica Financial Advisors acquired 24,312 shares of Targa Resources worth approximately $6.5 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 92.13% of TRGP.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $297.18. Targa’s latest quarterly EPS of $3.54 exceeded estimates of $2.83, although revenue fell short of forecasts.
• TRGP was recently trading at $294.38, near its 12-month high, while risks include a debt-to-equity ratio of about 5.0 and recent sales by two directors. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share, yielding approximately 1.7%.

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,312 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $6,519,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.4% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,832,687 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,586,077,000 after purchasing an additional 291,114 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,668,233 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,337,289,000 after purchasing an additional 162,878 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,867,345 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,078,497,000 after buying an additional 45,495 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $735,758,000. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,389,006 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $625,272,000 after buying an additional 572,562 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $310.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $335.00 target price on Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Targa Resources from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $282.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $297.18.

Trending Headlines about Targa Resources

Here are the key news stories impacting Targa Resources this week:

• Positive Sentiment: J.P. Morgan reaffirmed its Buy rating on Targa Resources, maintaining a constructive view of the company’s growth outlook. Its recent price target of $315 remains above the stock’s recent trading level. J.P. Morgan Buy-rating article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive. Targa’s second-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.54 exceeded the $2.83 consensus estimate, while midstream industry results benefited from strong throughput, margins and demand for natural gas and NGL exports. Targa has also expanded long-term ExxonMobil-linked Permian agreements and announced new processing and pipeline projects. Midstream earnings outlook article
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s leadership plan adds experienced midstream executive Brent Secrest as President of Logistics and Transportation and promotes Benjamin Branstetter to CFO. Targa said the changes are intended to support long-term growth, while retiring CFO William Byers will remain an adviser through year-end to aid continuity. Targa leadership announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed, with 546 investors adding shares and 490 reducing holdings in the latest quarter. Analyst opinion remains favorable overall, but the median price target of $275 is below recent trading levels, suggesting valuation is a consideration.
• Negative Sentiment: Several directors have recently sold shares, including Charles R. Crisp’s $870,690 sale and Waters S. Iv Davis’s $719,208 sale. The transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in business outlook, but the absence of reported insider purchases may weigh on sentiment. Targa insider trading report
• Negative Sentiment: A sharp decline in crude prices recently pressured energy stocks broadly. Investors may also remain cautious about the CFO transition and Targa’s substantial debt-to-equity ratio of approximately 5.0.

Insider Activity

In other Targa Resources news, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total transaction of $719,208.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $458,195.43. This represents a 61.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $870,690.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,292 shares in the company, valued at $18,079,007.16. This represents a 4.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

TRGP stock opened at $294.38 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $273.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01. Targa Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.14 and a 12-month high of $307.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.71. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 69.26% and a net margin of 13.55%.The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 11.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TRGP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source