Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $217.34 and last traded at $217.24, with a volume of 2239000 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $215.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRGP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $182.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Targa Resources from $185.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays increased their price target on Targa Resources from $171.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, US Capital Advisors lowered Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.21.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $46.14 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 2.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.43.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 27.59%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Targa Resources Corp. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.25%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, insider D. Scott Pryor sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.33, for a total transaction of $5,709,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 82,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,793,393.07. This trade represents a 26.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.74, for a total value of $621,812.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,703,175.82. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,337 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Targa Resources by 31.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 4.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 38,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the second quarter worth $243,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 1.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 342,717 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $44,509,000 after buying an additional 4,234 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.