UBS Group Increases Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target to $55.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $51.00 to $55.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $47.46 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 $48.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx has a 12-month low of $35.51 and a 12-month high of $47.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.77.

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

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.06%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Mplx by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $631,435,000 after purchasing an additional 353,324 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Mplx by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,735,562 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $255,003,000 after acquiring an additional 45,271 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 0.6% in the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,580,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $248,089,000 after acquiring an additional 34,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $217,148,000 after acquiring an additional 255,211 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

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.