Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.69 and last traded at $45.49, with a volume of 133583 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Mplx Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. Mplx’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 82.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Mplx by 73.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 450.0% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the second quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. 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.