Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $48.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price raised by Truist Financial from $43.00 to $48.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MPLX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.11.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of Mplx stock opened at $41.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.19. Mplx has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $42.90. The company has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.35.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.70% and a net margin of 34.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Mplx by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 363,397 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,257 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 473,693 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $16,849,000 after buying an additional 20,143 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Mplx by 405.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 47,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 38,022 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Mplx in the third quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the third quarter worth about $404,000. Hedge funds and other 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.