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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

MPLX has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America assumed 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.56.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $48.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.63 and its 200 day moving average is $44.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a 1-year low of $36.76 and a 1-year high of $51.94.

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). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 23.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,764 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Mplx by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in Mplx by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 24,201 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 5.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,488 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,023,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.