Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,010,000 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the January 15th total of 9,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX stock traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $53.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,749,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,927,670. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $49.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.51. Mplx has a one year low of $38.22 and a one year high of $54.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 90.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Mplx by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Mplx in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

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.