StockNews.com Upgrades Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) to “Strong-Buy”

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

MPLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.44.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX opened at $47.06 on Thursday. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $47.62. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.68. The firm has a market cap of $48.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released 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 return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,488,000 after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Mplx by 47.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 16,637 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Mplx by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,487,000 after acquiring an additional 14,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 27.2% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 52,128 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 11,144 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

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.