Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Price

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $62.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.08% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.33.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $53.88. 340,023 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,601,631. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.71. Mplx has a 12 month low of $44.60 and a 12 month high of $54.87. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.84.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 37.61% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at $134,319,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Mplx by 5.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 76,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP lifted its stake in Mplx by 8.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 55,025 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 12.1% during the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 46,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 5,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth about $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.