Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,010,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the January 15th total of 9,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $53.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,749,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,927,670. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.51. The company has a market capitalization of $54.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Mplx has a 1 year low of $38.22 and a 1 year high of $54.52.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Mplx by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MPLX. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.