Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give MPLX an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from 13 firms (7 buy, 5 hold, 1 strong buy) with a 12-month consensus target of $62.00.
• MPLX declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0765 (annualized $4.31) implying a 7.5% yield; the ex-dividend date is May 8 and the payout ratio is 89.42%.
• The company posted an EPS beat of $1.17 vs. $1.10 consensus and $5.99B revenue; the stock trades near $57.17 with a market cap of $58.04B and a P/E of 11.86.

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MPLX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Mplx from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Trading Up 1.0%

Mplx stock opened at $57.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.20 and a 200-day moving average of $54.96. Mplx has a one year low of $47.80 and a one year high of $59.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $58.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.49.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. Mplx had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.42%.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP NYSE: MPLX is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership's asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.

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