StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Mplx (NYSE:MPLX)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

MPLX has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Mplx from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 14th. Raymond James increased their target price on Mplx from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Mplx from $33.50 to $35.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research raised Mplx from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mplx from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $38.50.

Mplx Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $33.59 on Thursday. Mplx has a 52-week low of $27.47 and a 52-week high of $35.49. The stock has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.51 and its 200 day moving average is $33.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The pipeline company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 33.96% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mplx will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 6th were paid a $0.775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.23%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mplx by 365.0% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 23.62% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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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.