Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

MPLX has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Mplx from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.14.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE:MPLX opened at $58.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Mplx has a 12-month low of $44.60 and a 12-month high of $59.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.11.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 216.2% during 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 bought a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.