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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.56.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $48.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.57. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $36.76 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 90.09%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 393.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 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.