Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.89.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Mplx Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $51.17 on Wednesday. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $36.79 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.11. The company has a market cap of $52.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.43.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Mplx’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.48%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 60,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mplx by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,204 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.2% in the third quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,320 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 3.9% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,032 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.