MPLX (NYSE:MPLX) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of MPLX (NYSE:MPLX) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MPLX from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MPLX from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MPLX from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.89.

MPLX Price Performance

MPLX stock opened at $47.87 on Wednesday. MPLX has a 12-month low of $43.54 and a 12-month high of $54.87. The stock has a market cap of $48.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

MPLX (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MPLX had a return on equity of 30.95% and a net margin of 35.44%.The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. MPLX’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MPLX will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of MPLX by 17.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 108,988 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,833,000 after purchasing an additional 15,807 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of MPLX by 18.4% in the first quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 35,181 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of MPLX by 349.2% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 118,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,347,000 after purchasing an additional 92,196 shares during the period. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MPLX by 14.8% in the second quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC now owns 242,300 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $12,481,000 after purchasing an additional 31,300 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of MPLX in the second quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

MPLX Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.