Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MPLX. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $49.44.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.50. 2,460,609 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,859,621. Mplx has a twelve month low of $35.51 and a twelve month high of $49.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $50.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $44.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.89.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.73%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.33%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Mplx by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 450.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.