Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MPLX. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.56.

Mplx Stock Performance

Mplx stock opened at $48.52 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a twelve month low of $36.76 and a twelve month high of $51.94. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.43.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Mplx by 7.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 149,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,647,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 387.5% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,543 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 18,714 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,488,000 after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in Mplx by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Mplx by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,276,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $56,768,000 after purchasing an additional 64,714 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

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.