Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $46.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $45.00 to $46.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group upped 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. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.11.

Mplx Price Performance

NYSE MPLX traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.12. 1,258,763 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,418,397. The company has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Mplx has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.77 and its 200-day moving average is $38.15.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.01). Mplx had a return on equity of 31.70% and a net margin of 34.96%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.27%. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Mplx by 405.7% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 47,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 38,022 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 18.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,579,152 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,028,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $72,154,000 after purchasing an additional 765,618 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 236,365 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,408,000 after purchasing an additional 118,090 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in Mplx by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,362,999 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $86,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65,380 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.