Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Price Target Lowered at Barclays

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $63.00 to $61.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MPLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mplx from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Mplx from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mplx from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.30.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $56.72 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.06 and a 200 day moving average of $57.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market cap of $57.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.48. Mplx has a 12 month low of $51.60 and a 12 month high of $60.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. Mplx had a net margin of 32.91% and a return on equity of 30.30%. The business had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $1.2111 dividend. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0765. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 113.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $303,072,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,151,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $65,739,000 after buying an additional 360,427 shares during the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,068,251 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $60,965,000 after buying an additional 30,267 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 486,025 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,378,000 after buying an additional 152,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 405,728 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $23,155,000 after buying an additional 52,308 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP is a diversified midstream energy company formed by Marathon Petroleum in 2012. It owns and operates infrastructure that gathers, processes, transports and stores energy products, connecting producers and refiners with customers and markets. The company’s assets include natural gas and natural gas liquids gathering and processing facilities, pipelines and fractionation plants, as well as crude oil and refined-product pipelines, storage terminals and inland marine transport operations. Its network serves energy-producing and refining regions across the United States.