UBS Group Raises Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target to $55.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $51.00 to $55.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.44.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX stock opened at $47.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.73. Mplx has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $47.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.14%. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 69.8% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 792,822 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 387.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $36,611,000 after acquiring an additional 654,500 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 2.4% during the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $631,435,000 after purchasing an additional 353,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC raised its stake in Mplx by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $217,148,000 after purchasing an additional 255,211 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mplx

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.