Targa Resources Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:TRGP)

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 4,358 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 521% compared to the typical volume of 702 put options.

Targa Resources Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of TRGP opened at $273.38 on Wednesday. Targa Resources has a 52-week low of $144.14 and a 52-week high of $307.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $281.88 and its 200-day moving average is $266.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $58.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Insider Activity

In other Targa Resources news, Director Paul W. Chung sold 1,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.11, for a total transaction of $537,735.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 44,000 shares in the company, valued at $13,028,840. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.23, for a total value of $870,690.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 62,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,079,007.16. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,216 shares of company stock worth $2,127,634. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hardy Reed LLC raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.0% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,321 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,146 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 2.3% during the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 0.3% during the second quarter. River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,457 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,217,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TRGP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $335.00 price target on Targa Resources in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $343.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Targa Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $275.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eighteen have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $317.24.

Targa Resources Company Profile

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) is a Houston-based midstream energy company that owns, operates and develops infrastructure for gathering, processing, transporting, storing and exporting natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined petroleum products. Its operations connect producers with domestic and international markets across key U.S. energy-producing regions.

The company’s assets include natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL pipelines, fractionation facilities, storage assets and export terminals.