Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $53.73 and last traded at $53.77, with a volume of 539130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.63.

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 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MPLX. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mplx by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,834 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Mplx by 368.0% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 188,057 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $9,000,000 after buying an additional 147,872 shares during the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 51,441 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 67,635 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 14,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Mplx by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,792 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.49 and a 200-day moving average of $45.91. 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 has a market capitalization of $54.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42.

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.