Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives $49.56 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.56.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Mplx Stock Down 0.3 %

MPLX opened at $47.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.33. Mplx has a 1-year low of $36.40 and a 1-year high of $51.94. The stock has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. Mplx’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In related 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Mplx by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% in the second 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 grew its position in shares of Mplx by 387.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,611,000 after purchasing an additional 654,500 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,498,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $66,636,000 after purchasing an additional 217,674 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently 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.