Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Given New $51.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $49.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

MPLX has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Sunday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $46.56.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $44.20 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.57 and a 200-day moving average of $41.67. The company has a market cap of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Mplx has a 52 week low of $34.52 and a 52 week high of $44.59.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in Mplx by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $631,435,000 after acquiring an additional 353,324 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 2.5% in the second quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,545,393 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $236,178,000 after purchasing an additional 136,013 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its stake in Mplx by 5.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 4.0% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,200,759 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $216,144,000 after purchasing an additional 201,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $111,200,000 after buying an additional 574,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.