Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $280.00 and last traded at $278.6030, with a volume of 142460 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $273.35.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TRGP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. US Capital Advisors lowered shares of Targa Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $318.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $236.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $285.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.73.

Targa Resources Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $265.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.55. The firm has a market cap of $59.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.64.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The pipeline company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.48 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 71.00% and a net margin of 12.87%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.75 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.25 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $2,713,687.92. Following the sale, the director owned 66,492 shares in the company, valued at $17,019,292.32. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 18,423 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,693,000 after purchasing an additional 5,327 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 157.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 6.3% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 13.1% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 11.0% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,881 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after buying 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.