Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) saw a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,520,000 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the June 30th total of 10,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,790,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MPLX. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Mplx by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,463,737 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $237,348,000 after buying an additional 154,529 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,545,393 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $236,178,000 after acquiring an additional 136,013 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $217,148,000 after acquiring an additional 255,211 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,200,759 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $216,144,000 after purchasing an additional 201,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $111,200,000 after purchasing an additional 574,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.11. 1,221,629 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,978,947. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Mplx has a 1 year low of $34.32 and a 1 year high of $43.42.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 31.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mplx will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $45.75.

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.