Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $60.28 and last traded at $60.0960, with a volume of 937961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MPLX shares. Weiss Ratings cut Mplx from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mplx from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.20.

Mplx Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.67. The company has a market cap of $61.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.48.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.71% and a net margin of 35.75%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 93.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 126.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 43,234 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 24,107 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Mplx by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,315,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $123,601,000 after acquiring an additional 57,247 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,343,689 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $125,083,000 after acquiring an additional 172,000 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,883,800 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $100,538,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 760,306 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,578,000 after acquiring an additional 211,694 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.