Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its MPLX price target from $55 to $56 but maintained a neutral rating; the new target implies about 0.9% downside from the stock’s then-current price.
• Analyst sentiment overall is more positive: MPLX has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $63.90.
• MPLX reported quarterly EPS of $1.15, beating estimates of $1.13, while revenue of $3.32 billion missed expectations and declined 0.4% year over year.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Citigroup from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Citigroup's target price suggests a potential downside of 0.92% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MPLX. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Mplx from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mplx from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (a)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "hold" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Mplx from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.90.

Mplx Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MPLX traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,328,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,752. Mplx has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $60.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $58.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.48.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.02. Mplx had a net margin of 32.91% and a return on equity of 30.27%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Mplx's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth about $303,072,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Attessa Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,042,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 486,025 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $27,378,000 after buying an additional 152,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth about $3,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP NYSE: MPLX is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides services for the gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

MPLX's assets include crude oil and refined-products pipelines, natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL fractionation facilities, storage terminals and marine transportation infrastructure. Through its logistics and storage operations, the company supports the movement of hydrocarbons from producing regions to refineries, export facilities and other domestic markets.

The company serves several major U.S.

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