Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives $43.86 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.86.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 1st quarter worth $126,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 27,907 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Mplx by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,826 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 4,247 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Mplx by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,688 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock opened at $39.92 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.16 and its 200 day moving average is $37.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 1.35. Mplx has a one year low of $33.12 and a one year high of $42.89.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.85% and a net margin of 34.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Mplx’s payout ratio is 89.24%.

Mplx Company Profile

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.