Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $59.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.11.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX opened at $53.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.56 and a 200-day moving average of $45.97. The company has a market capitalization of $54.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. Mplx has a 1-year low of $37.47 and a 1-year high of $54.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,576 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 393.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.