Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Price Target Raised to $298.00

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $266.00 to $298.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.59% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Targa Resources from $207.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Targa Resources in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Targa Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.79.

Targa Resources Trading Up 1.4%

TRGP stock traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $243.08. 867,077 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,398,129. The company has a market capitalization of $52.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Targa Resources has a fifty-two week low of $144.14 and a fifty-two week high of $250.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $200.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.50.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.16. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In related news, insider Gerald R. Shrader sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.21, for a total transaction of $498,327.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,356,748.81. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 17,500 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.92, for a total transaction of $4,006,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,311,246.96. This represents a 35.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 51,553 shares of company stock valued at $11,707,455 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TRGP. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Targa Resources by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 143,904 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $24,110,000 after purchasing an additional 7,497 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 137.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 66,636 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,164,000 after buying an additional 38,626 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 682,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $114,313,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 484,462 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,167,000 after buying an additional 22,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Targa Resources by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 146,368 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $24,325,000 after acquiring an additional 17,457 shares during the period. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.