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

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.56.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $48.42 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.82. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $36.76 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Mplx by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 149,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 18,714 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Mplx by 7.4% in 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 raised its position in Mplx by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.