Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Earns Sector Outperform Rating from Analysts at Scotiabank

Equities researchers at Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "sector outperform" rating and a $218.00 price target on the pipeline company's stock. Scotiabank's price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.61% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $182.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $182.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $186.86.

Targa Resources Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TRGP traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $193.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,800,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,691. Targa Resources has a 1 year low of $81.03 and a 1 year high of $209.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $188.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.30.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Targa Resources will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRGP. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Targa Resources during the third quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Targa Resources during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Targa Resources during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Targa Resources by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 478 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Targa Resources by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 532 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.