Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $57.15 and last traded at $55.5720, with a volume of 1741862 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial cut Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Mplx Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.01 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 37.61%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $1.0765 dividend. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,399 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,369 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. C2C Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. C2C Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth $264,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

About Mplx

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.