Brokerages Set Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Target Price at $62.80

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.80.

Several research firms have issued reports on MPLX. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE MPLX opened at $58.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $57.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.92. Mplx has a 12-month low of $47.80 and a 12-month high of $60.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.48.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 35.75%.The business had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.69%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Mplx by 81.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the first quarter worth $46,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.