Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Price

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $54.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the pipeline company's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on MPLX. Truist Financial increased their target price on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.56.

Mplx Stock Down 2.7 %

Mplx stock traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.41. 2,324,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,863,741. Mplx has a 1 year low of $36.27 and a 1 year high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $47.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.01.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. This is an increase from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.24%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC raised its stake in Mplx by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 450.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. 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.