Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.33.

MPLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mplx from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th.

Mplx Trading Up 0.2 %

Mplx stock opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $43.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.45. Mplx has a one year low of $34.52 and a one year high of $43.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Mplx’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.94%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at $67,253,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 4,274.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 792,822 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Mplx by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,826,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $75,909,000 after acquiring an additional 639,851 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $111,200,000 after acquiring an additional 574,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its stake in Mplx by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,740,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $100,631,000 after purchasing an additional 480,000 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is 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.