UBS Group Increases Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target to $49.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) had its price target lifted by UBS Group from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pipeline company's stock.

MPLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $43.86.

Mplx Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $40.64. 2,878,423 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,122,834. Mplx has a 1-year low of $33.12 and a 1-year high of $42.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $41.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.35.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 34.82% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Mplx will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.37%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Mplx during the second quarter worth about $33,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 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.