Opal Capital LLC Buys Shares of 219,789 Mplx Lp $MPLX

Opal Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 219,789 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,730,000. Mplx accounts for approximately 2.9% of Opal Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at $25,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $56.03 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $47.80 and a 12-month high of $59.98. The firm has a market cap of $56.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.48.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.15). Mplx had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 36.38%.The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid 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, May 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mplx from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Mplx from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Mplx from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Mplx Company Profile

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.