Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.71.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mplx from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the third quarter worth about $33,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Mplx during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Trading Up 1.1 %

MPLX opened at $41.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.01 and a 200-day moving average of $37.03. Mplx has a 52 week low of $33.12 and a 52 week high of $41.31.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.88 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.85% and a net margin of 34.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.23%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.24%.

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.