Mplx Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MPLX)

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 6,789 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 237% compared to the average volume of 2,017 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MPLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX traded up $0.51 during trading on Monday, reaching $54.84. 478,911 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,596,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.56. Mplx has a 1 year low of $44.60 and a 1 year high of $54.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted 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 firm 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 anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 91.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $444,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Mplx by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,284 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 1,621 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 331,772 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $17,756,000 after acquiring an additional 14,224 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,113 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Mplx by 2.6% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 19,670 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.