Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) Short Interest Update

Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE:TRGP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,590,000 shares, a decrease of 13.1% from the May 31st total of 4,130,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Targa Resources Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:TRGP opened at $128.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 2.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.99. Targa Resources has a 12-month low of $74.20 and a 12-month high of $130.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The pipeline company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.28 billion. Targa Resources had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 24.41%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Targa Resources will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Targa Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This is a boost from Targa Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Targa Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Targa Resources from $116.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $109.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Targa Resources from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Targa Resources

In other Targa Resources news, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.54, for a total transaction of $787,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,306.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Robert Muraro sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.08, for a total value of $1,200,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 196,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,649,876.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles R. Crisp sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.54, for a total value of $787,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,306.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,791 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,563 over the last quarter. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Targa Resources

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Targa Resources by 17.2% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 633 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 0.6% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 17,695 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 0.5% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 24,515 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,745,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 2.2% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,013 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Targa Resources by 15.1% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 92.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.