Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $52.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $49.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.89.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock opened at $50.19 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.95. 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 market cap of $51.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.43. Mplx has a 52 week low of $36.76 and a 52 week high of $51.94.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued 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 yield of 7.62%. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Mplx by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 60,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,204 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 2.2% during the third quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,032 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.