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

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on MPLX. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.44.

Mplx Trading Up 1.4 %

MPLX opened at $47.06 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.68. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $35.31 and a fifty-two week high of $47.62. The company has a market cap of $48.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 47.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after buying an additional 16,637 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Mplx by 4.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 52,318 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 1st quarter worth about $275,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 96,473 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 79.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 252,194 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,477,000 after acquiring an additional 111,826 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.