Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.56.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $48.42 on Friday. Mplx has a 52 week low of $36.76 and a 52 week high of $51.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43. 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’s fifty day moving average is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average is $44.85.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 7.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 149,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 387.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,543 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 18,714 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,488,000 after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Mplx by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,276,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $56,768,000 after purchasing an additional 64,714 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.