JPMorgan Chase & Co. Initiates Coverage on Mplx (NYSE:MPLX)

Equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mplx from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mplx from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mplx from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.80.

Mplx Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.09. 31,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,664,470. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.13. Mplx has a 12-month low of $49.43 and a 12-month high of $60.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 35.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Mplx by 81.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides services for the gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

MPLX’s assets include crude oil and refined-products pipelines, natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL fractionation facilities, storage terminals and marine transportation infrastructure. Through its logistics and storage operations, the company supports the movement of hydrocarbons from producing regions to refineries, export facilities and other domestic markets.

The company serves several major U.S.