Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually high bearish options activity: Traders bought 3,141 MPLX put options, 47% above the typical daily volume of 2,137, while shares fell 1.9% to $56.87.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: MPLX has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $63.80, despite some analysts maintaining Hold or lowering their ratings.
• Strong income profile: MPLX reported quarterly EPS of $1.06, revenue of $3.13 billion and 10.3% year-over-year revenue growth. Its quarterly dividend is $1.0765 per share, equating to a 7.6% annualized yield.

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 3,141 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,137 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Energy Income Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $303,072,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Mplx during the second quarter worth about $1,094,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Mplx by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,343,689 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $125,083,000 after acquiring an additional 172,000 shares in the last quarter. Attessa Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,042,000. Finally, Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,824,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Mplx from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mplx from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered Mplx from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.80.

Mplx Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MPLX traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.87. 725,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,695,251. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $58.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.26. The company has a market capitalization of $57.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.48. Mplx has a 52 week low of $47.80 and a 52 week high of $60.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.75% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.0765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.69%.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP NYSE: MPLX is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides transportation, storage and processing services for crude oil, refined products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs), supporting producers, refiners and other energy customers.

MPLX's assets include gathering and processing systems, pipelines, storage facilities, fractionation plants, marine terminals and inland and coastal logistics operations.

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