Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target to $61.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on MPLX from $63 to $61 but kept an "overweight" rating, implying about a 10% upside from the current price.
• MPLX reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results — $0.90 EPS vs. $1.05 expected and $2.86B revenue vs. $3.09B expected — and the stock traded near $55.48 after the release.
• Analyst views are mixed, with price targets ranging roughly from $55 to $73 and a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $61.70, indicating divergent outlooks despite generally positive ratings.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $61.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price points to a potential upside of 9.96% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MPLX. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Mplx from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.70.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX traded down $0.18 on Thursday, reaching $55.48. The company had a trading volume of 403,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,902,290. Mplx has a 1 year low of $47.80 and a 1 year high of $59.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.05.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.15). Mplx had a net margin of 36.38% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Belfer Management LLC grew its position in Mplx by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,849 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 12,598 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its position in shares of Mplx by 4.0% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 5,198 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 3.5% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,069 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

MPLX LP NYSE: MPLX is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership's asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.