Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) PT Raised to $51.00 at UBS Group

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $49.00 to $51.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.56.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $43.89. The company had a trading volume of 46,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,901,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx has a 1 year low of $34.52 and a 1 year high of $44.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.44 and its 200 day moving average is $41.60.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,253,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 792,822 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 53.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,826,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $75,909,000 after purchasing an additional 639,851 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $111,200,000 after purchasing an additional 574,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Mplx by 170.6% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 637,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $23,394,000 after buying an additional 401,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.