Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.69 and last traded at $45.49, with a volume of 133583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.32.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Mplx Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.86 and its 200-day moving average is $42.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.41%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Mplx by 47.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 16,637 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Mplx by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 14,782 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Mplx in the first quarter worth about $799,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 40.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 361,257 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $15,386,000 after buying an additional 104,218 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the second quarter valued at approximately $308,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.