Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $59.98 and last traded at $59.7650, with a volume of 225981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.65.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mplx from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial lowered Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 216.2% in the 2nd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.12 and a 200-day moving average of $53.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 37.79%.The business had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.0765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.42%.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.