Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Research Coverage Started at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $340.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on TRGP. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $282.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $312.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $282.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $309.94.

Targa Resources Trading Down 0.6%

TRGP opened at $290.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.98. Targa Resources has a 1-year low of $144.14 and a 1-year high of $307.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.71. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 69.26% and a net margin of 13.55%.The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. Analysts expect that Targa Resources will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 31st. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is 47.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total transaction of $870,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 62,292 shares in the company, valued at $18,079,007.16. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul W. Chung sold 1,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.11, for a total transaction of $537,735.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,000 shares in the company, valued at $13,028,840. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 7,216 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,634 over the last 90 days. 1.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TRGP. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 381.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 101 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Company Profile

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) is a midstream energy infrastructure company that gathers, processes, transports and fractionates natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations connect producers with downstream markets and include natural gas gathering and processing, NGL fractionation, storage, transportation and marketing, as well as crude oil gathering and logistics.

The company operates an integrated network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionation facilities, storage assets and export infrastructure across the United States.