Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 1-Year High at $42.90

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $42.90 and last traded at $42.03, with a volume of 1130150 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

Mplx Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $42.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.35.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.01). Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 32.13%. The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.63%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Mplx by 405.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 47,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 38,022 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mplx by 18.9% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 28,771,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,023,413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,579,152 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 60.6% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,028,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $72,154,000 after buying an additional 765,618 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 99.8% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 236,365 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,408,000 after buying an additional 118,090 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,362,999 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $86,769,000 after buying an additional 65,380 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids; gathering, storage, transportation, and distribution of crude oil and refined products, as well as other hydrocarbon-based products and renewables; and sale of residue gas and condensate.