Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,980,000 shares, a drop of 15.2% from the December 15th total of 10,590,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.89.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.83. 1,256,394 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,563,169. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.43. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.98. Mplx has a twelve month low of $36.76 and a twelve month high of $51.94.

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. As a group, research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.53%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its position in Mplx by 325.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 123,663 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,919,000 after acquiring an additional 94,628 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,435 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 31,912 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 10,634 shares during the period. Shikiar Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.