Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.89.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE:MPLX opened at $48.77 on Friday. Mplx has a 12 month low of $36.76 and a 12 month high of $51.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.90.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. Mplx’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.84%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 90.09%.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marcum Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 23,161 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $354,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its position in Mplx by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 28,101 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 21,120 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.