Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Short Interest Update

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,010,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the January 15th total of 9,210,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $53.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,749,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,927,670. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.51. The stock has a market cap of $54.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42. Mplx has a one year low of $38.22 and a one year high of $54.52.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPLX. Raymond James boosted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.11.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.