JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Price

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $58.00 to $60.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mplx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Raymond James Financial lowered Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.57.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $58.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.26. Mplx has a 1-year low of $44.60 and a 1-year high of $59.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 37.79%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.0765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Belfer Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,849 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Mplx by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mplx by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 12,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its stake in Mplx by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 5,198 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

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.