Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 52-Week High at $43.51

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $43.51 and last traded at $43.48, with a volume of 49051 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Mplx from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.33.

Mplx Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $44.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.35 and a 200-day moving average of $41.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s payout ratio is 87.63%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the first quarter worth $35,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Mplx in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids; gathering, storage, transportation, and distribution of crude oil and refined products, as well as other hydrocarbon-based products and renewables; and sale of residue gas and condensate.