Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.1429.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MPLX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th.

Mplx Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $58.49 on Monday. Mplx has a 1-year low of $44.60 and a 1-year high of $59.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $56.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 37.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.