Morgan Stanley Increases Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Price Target to $202.00

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $202.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.83% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $124.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $128.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.79.

Targa Resources Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE TRGP opened at $168.57 on Friday. Targa Resources has a 52 week low of $81.03 and a 52 week high of $169.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 2.25.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pipeline company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 23.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Targa Resources will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 1,213 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.02, for a total transaction of $160,140.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 52,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,898,969.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Paul W. Chung sold 916 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.35, for a total value of $124,896.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 238,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,531,882.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 1,213 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.02, for a total transaction of $160,140.26. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 52,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,898,969.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 175,534 shares of company stock worth $26,815,021 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,345,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Targa Resources by 239.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 791,095 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $101,877,000 after acquiring an additional 557,832 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,721 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $194,720,000 after purchasing an additional 360,675 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,303,522 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $296,647,000 after purchasing an additional 271,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 9,695,457 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,085,794,000 after purchasing an additional 252,729 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

Targa Resources Company Profile

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiary, Targa Resources Partners LP, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil.