Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $58.98 and last traded at $58.88, with a volume of 155857 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPLX. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research raised Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.29.

Mplx Price 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day moving average of $52.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.57.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 37.79%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.0765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. Mplx’s payout ratio is 89.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 216.2% during the 2nd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

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.