Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $63.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $63.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on MPLX. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.14.

Mplx Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MPLX opened at $58.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $44.60 and a fifty-two week high of $59.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.39. The stock has a market cap of $59.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 37.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.42%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the second quarter worth $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 216.2% in the second quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.