Analysts Set Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) PT at $272.73

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $272.7333.

TRGP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $262.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $268.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Targa Resources Stock Up 3.9%

TRGP opened at $273.72 on Friday. Targa Resources has a 52 week low of $144.14 and a 52 week high of $280.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $263.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.55. 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 $58.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.56%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 10,602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 66,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,019,292.32. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 260,760 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $43,688,000 after acquiring an additional 70,998 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Targa Resources by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 34,805 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,421,000 after purchasing an additional 12,640 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 9.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,291,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620,253 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 6.9% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 375,619 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $62,960,000 after purchasing an additional 24,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 820,310 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $151,331,000 after buying an additional 53,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Company Profile

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.