Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Research analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the pipeline company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 3.02% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.67.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $44.34 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.19. Mplx has a 52 week low of $35.06 and a 52 week high of $45.24. The company has a market capitalization of $45.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Mplx by 47.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 16,637 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Mplx by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 14,782 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Mplx during the 1st quarter valued at $799,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in Mplx by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,385,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $99,151,000 after purchasing an additional 22,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mplx by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 361,257 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,386,000 after purchasing an additional 104,218 shares during the last quarter. 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.