Analysts Set Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) PT at $49.89

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $49.89.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $51.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Mplx has a 1 year low of $36.79 and a 1 year high of $51.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.46 and its 200 day moving average is $45.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.43.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.48%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 90.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Mplx by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 149,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 387.5% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,543 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 18,714 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Mplx by 7.4% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,488,000 after acquiring an additional 19,320 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Mplx by 69.8% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,000 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Mplx by 5.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,276,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $56,768,000 after purchasing an additional 64,714 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mplx

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.