Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its target price hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $185.00 to $223.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

TRGP has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. US Capital Advisors cut Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.43.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP opened at $172.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.95. The firm has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.28. Targa Resources has a 1 year low of $81.03 and a 1 year high of $209.87.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Targa Resources will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 54.25%.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total value of $5,709,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 82,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,793,393.07. This trade represents a 26.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total value of $23,329,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 110,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,181,399.10. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 183,260 shares of company stock valued at $29,661,212 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 65.1% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 25,615 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,323,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,042,000. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 12.7% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,784,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Targa Resources by 73.3% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,984 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. 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.