Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of Mplx stock opened at $52.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a 12 month low of $37.04 and a 12 month high of $53.55.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Mplx by 69.8% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 0.8% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,735,562 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $255,003,000 after purchasing an additional 45,271 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 0.6% in the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,580,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $248,089,000 after purchasing an additional 34,659 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.9% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,933,486 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $85,963,000 after purchasing an additional 90,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,568,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $75,054,000 after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares during 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.