Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.75.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Mplx from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter worth $33,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 22.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MPLX opened at $35.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.40. Mplx has a 1 year low of $31.34 and a 1 year high of $36.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.77.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The pipeline company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.02). Mplx had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 32.89%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 2nd. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 97.42%.

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, exchange, 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 sale of residue gas and condensate.