Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.14.

Mplx Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:MPLX opened at $58.49 on Friday. Mplx has a 12 month low of $44.60 and a 12 month high of $59.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $59.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. Mplx had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 216.2% in the 2nd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.