Short Interest in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Declines By 26.1%

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,522,583 shares, a decrease of 26.1% from the December 15th total of 10,184,962 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,444,715 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,444,715 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 216.2% during the 2nd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MPLX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.57. 1,002,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,533. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.56. Mplx has a 52 week low of $44.60 and a 52 week high of $56.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.66.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.45. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 37.61%.The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.10%.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.