Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MPLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Mplx Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MPLX opened at $54.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $55.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.89. Mplx has a 1 year low of $39.56 and a 1 year high of $54.87.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.74%.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. The trade was a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 139.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

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.