Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $269.2143.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $281.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

TRGP stock opened at $259.61 on Wednesday. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $280.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64. The company has a market cap of $55.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $256.08 and its 200-day moving average is $224.49.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.27). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%.The company had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.96, for a total value of $2,713,687.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at $17,019,292.32. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,693,000 after acquiring an additional 5,327 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 157.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,931 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,881 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corporation (NYSE: TRGP) is a U.S.-focused midstream energy company that provides gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing services for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and condensate. Its operations span the midstream value chain, including gas gathering systems that collect production from wells, processing plants that separate and recover NGLs and other hydrocarbons, fractionation and purification facilities that prepare NGLs for market, and pipeline and terminal assets that move and store products for producers, refiners and other customers.

The company operates a network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionators and storage facilities that serve producers and consumers across major U.S.