Sifting through countless of stocks in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in MPLX LP or Targa Resources Corp. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp.

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Products Logistics; and Natural Gas and NGL Services. 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. It also engages in inland marine businesses, comprising fleet of boats and barges transport light products, heavy oils, crude oil, renewable fuels, chemicals, and feedstocks in the Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast regions, as well as a marine repair facility located on the Ohio River; and distribution of fuel, as well as operates refining logistics, terminals, rail facilities, and storage caverns. In addition, it operates terminal facilities for the receipt, storage, blending, additization, handling, and redelivery of refined petroleum products through the pipeline, rail, marine, and truck transportation. MPLX GP LLC acts as the general partner of MPLX LP. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. MPLX LP operates as a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation.

Targa Resources Corp., together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, acquires, and develops a portfolio of complementary domestic infrastructure assets in North America. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Logistics and Transportation. The company is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting, and selling natural gas liquids (NGL) and NGL products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, purchasing, and selling crude oil. It is involved in the purchase and resale of NGL products; and sale of propane, as well as provision of related logistics services to multi-state retailers, independent retailers, and other end-users. In addition, the company offers NGL balancing services; and transportation services to refineries and petrochemical companies in the Gulf Coast area, as well as purchases, markets, and resells natural gas. The company also leased and owned railcars, tractors, vacuum trucks and pressurized NGL barges. Targa Resources Corp. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Latest Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels and MPLX LP, Targa Resources Corp. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, MPLX LP had a $60.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels median of $2.8 million. MPLX LP’s stock is up 11.8% in 2026, up 0.7% in the previous five trading days and up 17.44% in the past year.

Currently, MPLX LP’s price-earnings ratio is 12.8. MPLX LP’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.0 billion with a 39.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $4.420 per share for the current fiscal year. MPLX LP currently has a 7.2% dividend yield.

As of September 4, 2026, Targa Resources Corp. had a $62.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 94th percentile of all stocks. Targa Resources Corp.’s stock is up 57.2% in 2026, up 0.8% in the previous five trading days and up 74.16% in the past year.

Currently, Targa Resources Corp.’s price-earnings ratio is 27.7. Targa Resources Corp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $16.7 billion with a 13.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $11.497 per share for the current fiscal year. Targa Resources Corp. currently has a 1.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
MPLX LP	MPLX	C
Targa Resources Corp.	TRGP	D

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

MPLX LP has a Value Score of 52, which is Average. Targa Resources Corp. has a Value Score of 28, which is Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither MPLX LP or Targa Resources Corp. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if MPLX LP or Targa Resources Corp. is the better investment when it comes to value.

MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
MPLX LP	MPLX	B
Targa Resources Corp.	TRGP	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

MPLX LP has a Quality Score of 62, which is Strong. Targa Resources Corp. has a Quality Score of 75, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Quality Grade breakdown above, both MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp. have a grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s overall quality, you will need to conduct further research into both companies to see if they are a good fit for your portfolio. As a good rule of thumb, you should always analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before choosing a company to invest in.

MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
MPLX LP	MPLX	C
Targa Resources Corp.	TRGP	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

MPLX LP has a Momentum Score of 54, which is Average. Targa Resources Corp. has a Momentum Score of 82, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Targa Resources Corp.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Targa Resources Corp. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to MPLX LP. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Targa Resources Corp. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Value and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, MPLX LP or Targa Resources Corp. Stock?

Overall, MPLX LP stock has a Value Score of 52, Momentum Score of 54 and Quality Score of 62.

Targa Resources Corp. stock has a Value Score of 28, Momentum Score of 82 and Quality Score of 75.

Comparing MPLX LP and Targa Resources Corp.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.