Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.10.

MPLX has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on 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 upped their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $53.08 on Thursday. Mplx has a 12 month low of $39.56 and a 12 month high of $54.79. The stock has a market cap of $54.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.91. 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 (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.74%.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. The trade was a 18.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the third quarter worth $51,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.