Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.80.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MPLX. Wolfe Research downgraded Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX stock opened at $59.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.28. Mplx has a 52-week low of $47.80 and a 52-week high of $60.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.48.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 35.75%.The company had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 92.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,049 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 6.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,557 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $853,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,139 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 53,113 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,736,000 after buying an additional 5,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its position in Mplx by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 6,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides transportation, storage and processing services for crude oil, refined products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), supporting producers, refiners and other energy customers.

MPLX’s assets include gathering and processing systems, pipelines, storage facilities, fractionation plants, marine terminals and inland and coastal logistics operations.