Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $54.45 and last traded at $54.35, with a volume of 403134 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Mplx Trading Up 1.5 %

The firm's 50 day moving average is $50.10 and its 200 day moving average is $46.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $55.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 45.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,508 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 16,076 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the third quarter valued at $256,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 398,340 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $17,710,000 after buying an additional 29,388 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 4,842 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 9,070 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mplx

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.