Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $167.80 and last traded at $167.30, with a volume of 21887 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $165.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on TRGP. Scotiabank raised their target price on Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus upgraded Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $153.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.36.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $36.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $151.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.31.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Targa Resources Corp. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 2,500 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.20, for a total value of $365,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 174,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,504,736.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total transaction of $23,329,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 110,470 shares in the company, valued at $17,181,399.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert Muraro sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.20, for a total transaction of $365,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 174,451 shares in the company, valued at $25,504,736.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 175,534 shares of company stock worth $26,815,021 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Buckley Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Targa Resources by 0.7% during the third quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,925 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 9.8% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 934 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Targa Resources by 1.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,911 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 3.4% during the second quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 10,107 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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.