Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on MPLX. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE MPLX opened at $45.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx has a 1-year low of $35.07 and a 1-year high of $47.62. 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 (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly 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). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.32%. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.19%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 450.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the second quarter worth $67,000. 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.