Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Mplx Lp has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from nine brokerages, with seven ratings for buy, one for hold, and one for sell.
• The average twelve-month price target for Mplx shares is $55.89, with recent analysts raising their price targets to as high as $60.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9565, representing an annualized yield of 7.6% and a payout ratio of approximately 90.97%.

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.8889.

Several analysts have issued reports on MPLX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $50.07 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $50.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a 12-month low of $41.83 and a 12-month high of $54.87. The company has a market cap of $51.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.73.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). Mplx had a net margin of 35.44% and a return on equity of 30.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Mplx's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is 90.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the second quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC increased its position in Mplx by 216.2% during the second quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth $31,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

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.

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