Targa Resources Corp (TRGP): Insiders Aren’t Crazy About It

Is Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP) the right pick for your portfolio? Hedge funds are turning bullish. The number of long hedge fund bets inched up by 1 recently.

In the financial world, there are tons of gauges market participants can use to analyze the equity markets. A couple of the best are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can outclass the market by a significant margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is another way to break down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are many motivations for an executive to cut shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this strategy if you know what to do (learn more here).

With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action regarding Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP).

How have hedgies been trading Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 13 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 8% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings substantially.

According to our comprehensive database, Carlson Capital, managed by Clint Carlson, holds the biggest position in Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP). Carlson Capital has a $38.9 million position in the stock, comprising 0.5% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies, with a $38.6 million position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, Richard Driehaus’s Driehaus Capital and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers have been driving this bullishness. Driehaus Capital, managed by Richard Driehaus, established the most valuable position in Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP). Driehaus Capital had 11.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Paul Marshall and Ian Wace’s Marshall Wace LLP also made a $5.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new TRGP positions are D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

What have insiders been doing with Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Targa Resources Corp (NYSE:TRGP). These stocks are Atlas Energy LP (NYSE:ATLS), WGL Holdings Inc (NYSE:WGL), Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (NYSE:PNY), Suburban Propane Partners LP (NYSE:SPH), and Inergy, L.P. (NYSE:NRGY). All of these stocks are in the gas utilities industry and their market caps are similar to TRGP’s market cap.