Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives $46.33 Average Price Target from Analysts

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.33.

MPLX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $43.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.57. Mplx has a one year low of $34.52 and a one year high of $44.09.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.76%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,253,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 792,822 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,826,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $75,909,000 after acquiring an additional 639,851 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $111,200,000 after acquiring an additional 574,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,740,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $100,631,000 after acquiring an additional 480,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.