Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.30 and last traded at $56.15, with a volume of 1133223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Mplx Stock Up 0.9%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.69 and its 200-day moving average is $51.60. The stock has a market cap of $56.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 37.61%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.31%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 2.2% during the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $280,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,216 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth about $335,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $330,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new stake in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $990,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the second quarter worth approximately $776,894,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.