Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Given New $50.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $47.00 to $50.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.25.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $44.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.15. Mplx has a 1-year low of $35.06 and a 1-year high of $45.24.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 4,274.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 792,822 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Mplx by 53.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,826,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $75,909,000 after purchasing an additional 639,851 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in Mplx by 2.4% during the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $631,435,000 after purchasing an additional 353,324 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 5.1% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $217,148,000 after buying an additional 255,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,200,759 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $216,144,000 after buying an additional 201,500 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.