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

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Targa Resources from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Targa Resources from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $111.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Argus assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $131.08.

Targa Resources Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Targa Resources stock opened at $133.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Targa Resources has a 12-month low of $74.95 and a 12-month high of $133.78. The company has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 2.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.16.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 24.41% and a net margin of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.28 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other news, insider Robert Muraro sold 9,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,290,069.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 186,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,361,584.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Targa Resources news, insider Robert Muraro sold 9,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,290,069.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 186,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,361,584.81. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 2,691 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $304,083.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,466,764. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,691 shares of company stock valued at $6,197,632 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 962,073 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Targa Resources by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,791,452 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $325,003,000 after acquiring an additional 524,794 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Targa Resources by 287.3% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 45,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 33,900 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Targa Resources by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Targa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,117,000. 92.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.