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

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MPLX. UBS Group lifted 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $45.11.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE MPLX traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $41.12. 1,258,763 shares of the stock were exchanged, 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $40.77 and its 200 day moving average is $38.15. Mplx has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $42.90. 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 (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.