Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $58.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Mplx traded as high as $54.87 and last traded at $54.67, with a volume of 1884647 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.33.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon purchased 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Trading Up 2.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $55.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.74%.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.