Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.55 and last traded at $52.49, with a volume of 5256527 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Mplx Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $53.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.74.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.35%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Mplx by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,576 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 393.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.