Analysts Set Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target at $55.50

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.50.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the first quarter worth $33,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $51.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $52.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Mplx has a 12 month low of $39.95 and a 12 month high of $54.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.98.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Mplx’s payout ratio is 88.22%.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.