Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays increased their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.88.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX stock traded down $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $43.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,442,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,855,438. Mplx has a 52 week low of $35.06 and a 52 week high of $45.24. The company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the first quarter worth $35,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Mplx during the first quarter worth $41,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the first quarter worth $41,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.