Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Downgraded to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.67.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX stock traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $46.42. 2,431,344 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,329,586. Mplx has a 12-month low of $35.07 and a 12-month high of $46.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $47.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.49.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.05). Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $631,435,000 after buying an additional 353,324 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,580,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $248,089,000 after buying an additional 34,659 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $217,148,000 after buying an additional 255,211 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,200,759 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $216,144,000 after buying an additional 201,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

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.