Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.44.

Mplx Stock Up 1.3 %

MPLX opened at $47.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.72. Mplx has a 52 week low of $35.31 and a 52 week high of $47.62. The stock has a market cap of $47.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.14%. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s payout ratio is 90.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Mplx by 0.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 60,475 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 17,180 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,701 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,204 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 10.4% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.