Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

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

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mplx from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Mplx in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mplx from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Energy Income Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $303,072,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Mplx by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,151,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $65,739,000 after acquiring an additional 360,427 shares during the period. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,068,251 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $60,965,000 after acquiring an additional 30,267 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Mplx by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 486,668 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,107,000 after acquiring an additional 7,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mplx by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 486,025 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,378,000 after acquiring an additional 152,041 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $58.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. Mplx has a one year low of $50.22 and a one year high of $60.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.39 and its 200 day moving average is $57.24.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.75% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $1.2111 per share. This represents a $4.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.2%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.0765. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 92.69%.

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 services for the gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

MPLX’s assets include crude oil and refined-products pipelines, natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL fractionation facilities, storage terminals and marine transportation infrastructure. Through its logistics and storage operations, the company supports the movement of hydrocarbons from producing regions to refineries, export facilities and other domestic markets.

The company serves several major U.S.