Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $58.98 and last traded at $58.88, with a volume of 155857 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Mplx Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.54.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. Mplx had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $1.0765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.42%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Belfer Management LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,849 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $520,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 12,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its holdings in Mplx by 4.0% during the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 5,198 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mplx by 0.8% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,081 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.