Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

MPLX has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.11.

Mplx Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MPLX traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $52.92. 1,708,519 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,843,367. Mplx has a 52 week low of $38.44 and a 52 week high of $54.74. The company has a market cap of $53.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The business's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.23%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.74%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 141.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $95,011,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161,714 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 5,070.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 977,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $46,797,000 after acquiring an additional 958,881 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,917,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 221.9% during the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 643,995 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,822,000 after purchasing an additional 443,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.