Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.93.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TRGP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $194.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Targa Resources from $201.00 to $199.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $202.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Targa Resources from $211.00 to $206.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

TRGP traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $159.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,653,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,578. The stock has a market cap of $34.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $112.27 and a twelve month high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($1.13). Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.81% and a return on equity of 28.67%. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.01 billion. Research analysts expect that Targa Resources will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a yield of 2.34%. Targa Resources's payout ratio is 73.66%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other news, CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.08, for a total transaction of $9,527,121.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 725,628 shares in the company, valued at $141,555,510.24. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.26, for a total value of $429,809.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $568,957.74. The trade was a 43.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,914 shares of company stock worth $22,613,288 over the last 90 days. 1.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 578.9% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 129 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 5,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Targa Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company's stock.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.