Barclays Cuts Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target to $52.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.50.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $50.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.23 and a 200-day moving average of $50.24. 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 fifty-two week low of $39.95 and a fifty-two week high of $54.87.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. Mplx’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.56%. Mplx’s payout ratio is 88.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CFO4Life Group LLC raised its position in Mplx by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 19,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC raised its position in Mplx by 1.8% during the first quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 11,603 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mplx by 1.8% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,603 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Mplx by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 21,520 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.