Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $55.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Mplx traded as high as $47.71 and last traded at $47.48, with a volume of 214664 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.46.

MPLX has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 73.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC raised 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 last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $48.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.05%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

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.