Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

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

MPLX has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.11.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $53.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.45 and its 200 day moving average is $46.77. Mplx has a twelve month low of $38.44 and a twelve month high of $54.74. 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 (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ING Groep NV grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $95,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161,714 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 5,070.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 977,794 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $46,797,000 after purchasing an additional 958,881 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,917,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 221.9% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 643,995 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,822,000 after buying an additional 443,910 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.