Mplx Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:MPLX)

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 10,371 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 353% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,287 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the second quarter valued at about $88,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX traded up $0.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $46.98. 2,672,699 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,828,126. The firm has a market cap of $47.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Mplx has a one year low of $35.07 and a one year high of $47.62. The stock's fifty day moving average is $44.01 and its 200 day moving average is $42.49.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.14%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is 82.52%.

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.