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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MPLX. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $53.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. Mplx has a 52 week low of $37.44 and a 52 week high of $53.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Mplx’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.09%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,576 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 393.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.