Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Short Interest Down 17.6% in March

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,520,000 shares, a decline of 17.6% from the March 15th total of 9,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Mplx Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of MPLX traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $49.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,773,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,368. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.50. Mplx has a 1-year low of $39.84 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The company has a market cap of $50.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPLX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This represents a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mplx by 139.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.