Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 12-Month High at $42.90

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $42.90 and last traded at $42.03, with a volume of 1130150 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James raised their price target on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.57.

Mplx Trading Down 0.5 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.74 and its 200-day moving average is $38.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $42.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.35.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 32.13%. Mplx’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Mplx by 440.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,649,301 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $200,946,000 after purchasing an additional 4,604,066 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Mplx by 18.9% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 28,771,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,023,413,000 after acquiring an additional 4,579,152 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,253,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Mplx by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,309,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $224,419,000 after purchasing an additional 976,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,917,505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $744,036,000 after purchasing an additional 809,273 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.