JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Price Target to $145.00

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $116.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Targa Resources from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on Targa Resources from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $131.08.

Targa Resources Price Performance

TRGP stock opened at $133.60 on Tuesday. Targa Resources has a 1 year low of $74.95 and a 1 year high of $133.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.16.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The pipeline company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.13). Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 24.41%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This is a positive change from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio is 61.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.13, for a total value of $2,262,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 136,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,396,766.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total transaction of $304,083.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,466,764. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 20,000 shares of Targa Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.13, for a total transaction of $2,262,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 136,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,396,766.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 52,691 shares of company stock valued at $6,197,632. 1.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 200.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,577,027 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $478,063,000 after buying an additional 3,720,270 shares during the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. boosted its position in shares of Targa Resources by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 9,442,728 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $820,290,000 after acquiring an additional 3,554,989 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $187,123,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 231.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,378,046 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $119,712,000 after acquiring an additional 962,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 16.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,791,452 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $325,003,000 after purchasing an additional 524,794 shares during the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.