Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.50.

Mplx Trading Down 0.6%

MPLX stock opened at $51.21 on Thursday. Mplx has a 1-year low of $44.60 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $52.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.71.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.45. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 37.61%.The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,533 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 3,482 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 1.8% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,603 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Applied Capital LLC FL raised its position in Mplx by 101.4% during the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 17,570 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,845 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Stillwater Wealth Management Group purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.