Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Given New $244.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $208.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Targa Resources from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.43.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $196.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 34.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 2.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.77. Targa Resources has a 1 year low of $106.04 and a 1 year high of $218.51.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $1.44 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.48 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.30, for a total transaction of $6,905,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 82,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,206,024.70. This represents a 29.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Waters S. Iv Davis sold 2,190 shares of the company’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 transaction of $429,809.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,899 shares in the company, valued at $568,957.74. The trade was a 43.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,914 shares of company stock worth $22,613,288 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 5,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 394.6% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.13% of the company’s stock.

About Targa Resources

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.