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

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $185.00 to $223.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.81% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. 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 target for the company. US Capital Advisors downgraded Targa Resources from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Targa Resources from $190.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Argus upgraded Targa Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Targa Resources from $172.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.43.

Targa Resources Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Targa Resources stock traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $173.12. 433,379 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,657,345. The company has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 2.28. Targa Resources has a twelve month low of $81.03 and a twelve month high of $209.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.82.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 7.65% and a return on equity of 27.59%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joe Bob Perkins sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,181,399.10. This represents a 57.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie H. Boushka sold 3,260 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 35,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,703,175.82. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 183,260 shares of company stock worth $29,661,212. Company insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Targa Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRGP. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Targa Resources by 1.0% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Targa Resources during the 2nd quarter worth about $283,000. &PARTNERS boosted its stake in Targa Resources by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 10,107 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in Targa Resources by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Targa Resources in the second quarter worth $216,000. 92.13% of the stock is currently 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.