Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $51.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $49.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

MPLX has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $46.56.

Mplx Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $44.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $34.52 and a fifty-two week high of $44.59.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.