Brokerages Set Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Target Price at $54.00

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MPLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $53.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. Mplx has a 52 week low of $39.56 and a 52 week high of $54.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 90.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Mplx by 139.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mplx by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.