Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $54.79 and last traded at $54.25, with a volume of 184054 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MPLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $52.11.

Mplx Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $54.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The company's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx's payout ratio is 90.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Mplx by 139.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.