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

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.11.

MPLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $42.60 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.16 and its 200 day moving average is $39.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.35. Mplx has a 12 month low of $33.78 and a 12 month high of $42.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.70% and a net margin of 34.96%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 28,771,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,023,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,579,152 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 60.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,028,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,154,000 after purchasing an additional 765,618 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 170.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 637,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $23,394,000 after buying an additional 401,700 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,253,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in Mplx by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,362,999 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $86,769,000 after purchasing an additional 65,380 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mplx

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.