Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.86.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $40.68 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $41.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.77. Mplx has a 12 month low of $33.12 and a 12 month high of $42.89.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.85% and a net margin of 34.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 89.24%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by 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.