Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

Mplx Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE MPLX opened at $46.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Mplx has a one year low of $35.07 and a one year high of $47.62. The firm has a market cap of $47.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter worth about $41,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 450.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth $88,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

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.