StockNews.com Downgrades Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) to Buy

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on MPLX. Barclays dropped their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.56.

Mplx Stock Performance

Mplx stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $44.69. 1,045,687 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,902,427. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $45.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx has a one year low of $34.52 and a one year high of $44.74.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $826,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Mplx by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 140,154 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,969,000 after buying an additional 6,469 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 22,758 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,888 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,540 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 4,660 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing. 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.