Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $51.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.44.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $47.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $47.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.51 and its 200 day moving average is $42.73. Mplx has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $47.62.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.14%. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 450.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids; gathering, storage, transportation, and distribution of crude oil and refined products, as well as other hydrocarbon-based products and renewables; and sale of residue gas and condensate.