Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.54 and last traded at $58.7540, with a volume of 158569 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MPLX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.29.

Mplx Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.44 and a 200-day moving average of $52.84. The stock has a market cap of $60.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. Mplx had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.0765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.3%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 4.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,049 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 177.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,711 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Mplx by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 256,015 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $13,187,000 after acquiring an additional 4,878 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 23.0% in the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,756 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 5,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HFG Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Mplx in the second quarter valued at $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.