The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) Stock

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $185.00 to $223.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Argus upgraded Targa Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $155.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Targa Resources in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $182.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Targa Resources from $173.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment 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 company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.43.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $172.53. 3,305,154 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,669,471. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $81.03 and a twelve month high of $209.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.82. The company has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.28.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.17. Targa Resources had a return on equity of 27.59% and a net margin of 7.65%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Targa Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.25%.

Insider Transactions at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.74, for a total transaction of $621,812.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 35,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,703,175.82. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.53, for a total value of $23,329,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 110,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,181,399.10. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 183,260 shares of company stock valued at $29,661,212 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,925 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Targa Resources by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,685 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in shares of Targa Resources by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 934 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Targa Resources by 1.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,911 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is owned by 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.