Short Interest in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Declines By 15.2%

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,980,000 shares, a decrease of 15.2% from the December 15th total of 10,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Mplx Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MPLX opened at $50.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.43. Mplx has a one year low of $36.76 and a one year high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.98.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.53%. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MPLX shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 393.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

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.