Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.56.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MPLX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th.

Mplx Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MPLX traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.28. The company had a trading volume of 3,290,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,616,595. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.08. Mplx has a 12-month low of $36.27 and a 12-month high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.33%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 7.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 149,509 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mplx by 7.4% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,488,000 after buying an additional 19,320 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 5.3% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,276,828 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $56,768,000 after buying an additional 64,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 52,128 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 11,144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

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.