StockNews.com Lowers Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

MPLX has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.11.

Mplx Stock Performance

Mplx stock opened at $41.11 on Wednesday. Mplx has a twelve month low of $33.12 and a twelve month high of $42.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.77 and its 200 day moving average is $38.15.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.70% and a net margin of 34.96%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.27%. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the first quarter valued at $249,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the first quarter worth about $799,000. Belfer Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 42,539 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

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.