Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $266.3571.

Several brokerages have recently commented on TRGP. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $281.00 target price on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on Targa Resources from $255.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Targa Resources from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Targa Resources from $327.00 to $331.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Targa Resources Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TRGP opened at $272.04 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $244.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Targa Resources has a 12 month low of $144.14 and a 12 month high of $273.11.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 10.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This is an increase from Targa Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total value of $5,934,309.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 197,401 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,640,757.34. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 115,531 shares of company stock worth $27,405,821 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRGP. Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 37.4% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 260,760 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $43,688,000 after acquiring an additional 70,998 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 5.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 143,904 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,110,000 after acquiring an additional 7,497 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 5.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 484,462 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $81,167,000 after acquiring an additional 22,969 shares in the last quarter. NFC Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the third quarter valued at about $8,478,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 13.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,368 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,325,000 after acquiring an additional 17,457 shares in the last quarter. 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.

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