Targa Resources (TRGP) Competitors

APA (NASDAQ:APA) and Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment and earnings.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in APA or TRGP?

83.0% of APA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of Targa Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of APA shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Targa Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, APA or TRGP?

Targa Resources has higher revenue and earnings than APA. APA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Targa Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
APA	$9.74B	0.70	$804M	$2.78	6.77
Targa Resources	$16.38B	2.27	$1.28B	$5.43	31.54

Do analysts recommend APA or TRGP?

APA presently has a consensus price target of $23.44, suggesting a potential upside of 24.54%. Targa Resources has a consensus price target of $209.86, suggesting a potential upside of 22.55%. Given APA's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe APA is more favorable than Targa Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
APA	3 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Targa Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more risk and volatility, APA or TRGP?

APA has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Targa Resources has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is APA or TRGP a better dividend stock?

APA pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Targa Resources pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. APA pays out 36.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Targa Resources pays out 73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Targa Resources has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. APA is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor APA or TRGP?

In the previous week, APA had 7 more articles in the media than Targa Resources. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for APA and 25 mentions for Targa Resources. Targa Resources' average media sentiment score of 1.18 beat APA's score of 0.47 indicating that Targa Resources is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
APA	10 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Targa Resources	16 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is APA or TRGP more profitable?

APA has a net margin of 9.75% compared to Targa Resources' net margin of 7.35%. Targa Resources' return on equity of 30.48% beat APA's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
APA	9.75%	23.22%	7.63%
Targa Resources	7.35%	30.48%	5.43%

Summary

Targa Resources beats APA on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.