Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Increased to $47.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $45.00 to $47.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

MPLX has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $44.57.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX opened at $41.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.74 and a 200-day moving average of $38.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.07. Mplx has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $42.90.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.01). Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 32.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.17%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 440.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,649,301 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $200,946,000 after acquiring an additional 4,604,066 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mplx by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 28,771,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,023,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,579,152 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter worth $67,253,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 18.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,309,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $224,419,000 after buying an additional 976,033 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Mplx by 4.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,917,505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $744,036,000 after buying an additional 809,273 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.