Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $220.00 to $221.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $218.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Targa Resources from $171.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.00.

Targa Resources Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of TRGP stock opened at $195.49 on Monday. Targa Resources has a 1 year low of $99.04 and a 1 year high of $218.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.02. The company has a market cap of $42.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.46). Targa Resources had a return on equity of 28.67% and a net margin of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.48 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Targa Resources will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Matthew J. Meloy sold 48,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.08, for a total value of $9,527,121.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 725,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141,555,510.24. This trade represents a 6.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.26, for a total value of $429,809.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $568,957.74. This represents a 43.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,914 shares of company stock valued at $22,613,288 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth about $505,132,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $393,335,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 981.8% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,144,109 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $204,223,000 after buying an additional 1,038,350 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $150,372,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Targa Resources by 568.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 970,373 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $173,212,000 after acquiring an additional 825,267 shares during the period. 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.