Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $55.00 at UBS Group

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $51.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.44.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX stock traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $47.02. 2,127,282 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,861,689. The company has a 50 day moving average of $44.51 and a 200 day moving average of $42.71. The stock has a market cap of $47.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. 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 12 month low of $35.31 and a 12 month high of $47.62.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research 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 was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.14%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 4,274.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 792,822 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 387.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $36,611,000 after acquiring an additional 654,500 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $631,435,000 after purchasing an additional 353,324 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $217,148,000 after purchasing an additional 255,211 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.