Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.55 and last traded at $52.49, with a volume of 5256527 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Mplx Trading Down 2.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $53.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Mplx by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its position in Mplx by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,735,562 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $255,003,000 after acquiring an additional 45,271 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 0.6% in the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,580,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $248,089,000 after acquiring an additional 34,659 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in Mplx by 4.9% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,933,486 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,963,000 after purchasing an additional 90,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its stake in Mplx by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,506,962 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,123,000 after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares during the last quarter. 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.