Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

MPLX has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.44.

Mplx Stock Performance

Mplx stock opened at $47.02 on Thursday. Mplx has a twelve month low of $35.31 and a twelve month high of $47.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $47.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.51 and its 200 day moving average is $42.72.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.14%. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 90.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Mplx by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,000 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 7.4% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,488,000 after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Mplx by 47.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 16,637 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,487,000 after buying an additional 14,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 52,128 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,318,000 after buying an additional 11,144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.