Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MPLX. Barclays lifted their price target on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $45.11.

Mplx Price Performance

NYSE:MPLX opened at $40.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.86. The company has a market cap of $41.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.35. Mplx has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.90.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 31.70%. Mplx’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.36%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. PSI Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.