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

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price objective increased by Truist Financial from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MPLX. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

Mplx Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $48.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.90 and a 200-day moving average of $42.89. Mplx has a 52-week low of $35.51 and a 52-week high of $48.49. The stock has a market cap of $49.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 90.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the first quarter worth about $41,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC raised 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 valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.