Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $57.15 and last traded at $55.5720, with a volume of 1741862 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MPLX. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Mplx Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.05 and its 200 day moving average is $51.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 37.61% and a return on equity of 34.14%. On average, analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,049 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 120,832 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,167,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 8.1% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 6,715 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,894,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Mplx by 7.7% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.