Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $57.18 and traded as high as $57.56. Mplx shares last traded at $56.3040, with a volume of 1,699,014 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Mplx from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wolfe Research cut Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.80.

Mplx Stock Down 1.8%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.49.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. The company had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.75% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 92.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 24,726 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 5,299 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 18,164 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its position in Mplx by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 348,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $19,608,000 after buying an additional 10,377 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Grp LLC raised its position in Mplx by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 15,589 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 5,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advus Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Advus Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,191 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is a diversified master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides transportation, storage and logistics services for crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), primarily under long-term commercial arrangements with energy producers, refiners and other customers.

MPLX’s assets include crude oil and refined-products pipelines, storage facilities, marine and inland waterway terminals, rail and truck transportation operations, and gathering and processing systems.