Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $317.2353.

TRGP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $335.00 price target on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $312.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $324.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th.

Targa Resources Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $282.69 on Friday. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $144.14 and a twelve month high of $307.94. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $282.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.72.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.71. The firm 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Targa Resources will post 11.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 62,292 shares in the company, valued at $18,079,007.16. This represents a 4.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.67, for a total transaction of $719,208.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $458,195.43. This represents a 61.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,216 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,634. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hardy Reed LLC grew its holdings in Targa Resources by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 4,321 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,146 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 526 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

About Targa Resources

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) is a midstream energy infrastructure company that gathers, processes, transports and fractionates natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Its operations connect producers with downstream markets and include natural gas gathering and processing, NGL fractionation, storage, transportation and marketing, as well as crude oil gathering and logistics.

The company operates an integrated network of pipelines, processing plants, fractionation facilities, storage assets and export infrastructure across the United States.