Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.44.

Mplx Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE MPLX opened at $49.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.02 and a 200-day moving average of $42.94. The company has a market cap of $50.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx has a 12 month low of $35.51 and a 12 month high of $49.54.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.73%. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ING Groep NV lifted its position in Mplx by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Mplx by 4,274.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 792,822 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 387.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,611,000 after acquiring an additional 654,500 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 2.4% during the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $631,435,000 after purchasing an additional 353,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 5.1% during the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $217,148,000 after purchasing an additional 255,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

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, 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 renewables; and sale of residue gas and condensate.