Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Analyst Says

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Raymond James from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price suggests a potential upside of 12.77% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX opened at $53.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.02. Mplx has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $54.18. The company has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $826,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the third quarter worth $422,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 39.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,110 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 13.5% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 34,908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth $217,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.