Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Stock

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $202.00 to $244.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Targa Resources from $218.00 to $210.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Targa Resources from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. US Capital Advisors lowered Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Targa Resources from $220.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Targa Resources has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $210.50.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP opened at $198.90 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $199.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.41. Targa Resources has a 12-month low of $108.65 and a 12-month high of $218.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The firm has a market cap of $43.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.32.

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

Targa Resources Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Targa Resources’s payout ratio is currently 52.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer R. Kneale sold 29,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.42, for a total transaction of $5,750,856.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 227,269 shares in the company, valued at $43,731,100.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.26, for a total value of $429,809.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,899 shares in the company, valued at $568,957.74. This represents a 43.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,914 shares of company stock worth $22,613,288. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in Targa Resources by 5,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Targa Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Targa Resources by 394.6% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 146 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.