Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mplx from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.90.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $56.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.56. Mplx has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $60.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. Mplx had a return on equity of 30.30% and a net margin of 32.91%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.2111 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0765. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Mplx by 81.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides services for the gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

MPLX’s assets include crude oil and refined-products pipelines, natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL fractionation facilities, storage terminals and marine transportation infrastructure. Through its logistics and storage operations, the company supports the movement of hydrocarbons from producing regions to refineries, export facilities and other domestic markets.

The company serves several major U.S.