Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MPLX. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.11.

Mplx Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $53.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $54.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.56 and its 200 day moving average is $45.97. Mplx has a 52 week low of $37.47 and a 52 week high of $54.18.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in Mplx by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,735,562 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $255,003,000 after acquiring an additional 45,271 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,580,052 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $248,089,000 after acquiring an additional 34,659 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.9% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,933,486 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $85,963,000 after acquiring an additional 90,793 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,568,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $75,054,000 after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.