Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $57.15 and last traded at $55.5720, with a volume of 1741862 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $56.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MPLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Mplx Stock Performance

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 stock has a market cap of $56.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.75.

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

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.7%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 5,198 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 3.5% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 4,602 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. increased its position in Mplx by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 8,945 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.