Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Increased to $51.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $49.00 to $51.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MPLX. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.56.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.89. 46,134 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,901,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.44 and a 200-day moving average of $41.60. Mplx has a 12 month low of $34.52 and a 12 month high of $44.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the second quarter valued at about $826,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 140,154 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,969,000 after purchasing an additional 6,469 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 22,758 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,888 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 23.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,540 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 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.