Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $51.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Mplx traded as high as $44.53 and last traded at $44.53, with a volume of 382103 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.05.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays cut their price target on Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.56.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,253,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 792,822 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 53.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,826,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $75,909,000 after purchasing an additional 639,851 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $111,200,000 after purchasing an additional 574,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Mplx by 170.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 637,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $23,394,000 after purchasing an additional 401,700 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.63%.

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.