Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $53.73 and last traded at $53.77, with a volume of 539130 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.63.

The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s payout ratio is 90.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the third quarter worth $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $98,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,576 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 393.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $54.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.49 and a 200-day moving average of $45.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx Company Profile

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.