Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.90 and last traded at $54.8950, with a volume of 571887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Mplx Trading Up 1.8%

The stock has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.98.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 37.61%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $1.0765 dividend. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 91.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the second quarter valued at $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC increased its position in Mplx by 216.2% in the second quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently 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 Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.