StockNews.com Downgrades Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) to Buy

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

Several other research firms have also commented on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Mplx from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $46.56.

Mplx Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Mplx stock opened at $44.42 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.77. Mplx has a 12-month low of $34.52 and a 12-month high of $45.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.