Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Targa Resources, Inc. (NYSE:TRGP) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $257.84 and last traded at $257.5430, with a volume of 195132 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $250.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on TRGP. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $242.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $298.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $246.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $228.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.93.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $54.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The pipeline company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 65.48%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources, Inc. will post 10.32 EPS for the current year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This is an increase from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 24,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.34, for a total value of $5,934,309.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 197,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,640,757.34. This trade represents a 11.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick J. Mcdonie sold 31,537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total transaction of $7,548,696.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 305,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,043,815.68. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,929 shares of company stock worth $24,692,134. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,382,289 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,755,169,000 after acquiring an additional 422,075 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,643,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,291,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,253 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,668,233 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,337,289,000 after acquiring an additional 162,878 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,867,345 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,078,497,000 after acquiring an additional 45,495 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $735,758,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

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.