Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.21

Key Points

• MPLX raised its quarterly dividend 12.5% to $1.2111 per share, payable November 13 to shareholders of record November 6. The annualized dividend is $4.84, implying an 8.3% yield.
• The dividend has been increased for nine consecutive years, but coverage is relatively tight: the current payout ratio is 88.7%, while the expected forward payout ratio is 91.7%.
• Analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $63.80, versus MPLX’s reported share price of $58.09.

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.2111 per share by the pipeline company on Friday, November 13th. This represents a $4.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This is a 12.5% increase from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $1.0765.

Mplx has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 9 years. Mplx has a payout ratio of 88.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Analysts expect Mplx to earn $4.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 91.7%.

Mplx Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:MPLX opened at $58.09 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $58.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.49. Mplx has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $60.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. The business had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. The firm's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MPLX. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mplx has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.80.

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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