Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Announces Earnings Results

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mplx Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MPLX traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.03. 1,254,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,764,542. 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 company has a market cap of $50.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $51.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.16. Mplx has a one year low of $39.84 and a one year high of $54.87.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.80%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.88.

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.