Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.11.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MPLX shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBW Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 2.1% in the first quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 277,436 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $11,530,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 3.6% during the first quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC now owns 12,329 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx during the first quarter worth $885,000. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 152.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 34,462 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 20,788 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 486.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 133,685 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,556,000 after buying an additional 110,880 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $42.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Mplx has a 52-week low of $33.93 and a 52-week high of $43.07.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.01). Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 31.70%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Mplx’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.63%.

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.