Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $55.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.70% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Mplx Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of MPLX traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $54.36. 197,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,486. The company has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a 52 week low of $39.56 and a 52 week high of $54.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.10.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 21,520 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at $292,000. Novem Group acquired a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth $814,000. First Heartland Consultants Inc. increased its holdings in Mplx by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 9,857 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Finally, Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Mplx by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 58,775 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Company Profile

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.