Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $52.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $49.00 to $52.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.89.

Mplx Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $50.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.95. Mplx has a twelve month low of $36.76 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.43.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.17 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth $67,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 393.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth about $204,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.