Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $51.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the pipeline company's stock. UBS Group's target price points to a potential upside of 16.87% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MPLX. StockNews.com upgraded Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.44.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE MPLX traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.06. 2,127,196 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,861,689. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.43 and a 200-day moving average of $42.68. Mplx has a 12-month low of $35.31 and a 12-month high of $47.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Mplx by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 60,475 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,689,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 1.4% during the second quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 17,180 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,701 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mplx by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,204 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 10.4% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.