Zacks Research Downgrades Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) to Strong Sell

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.89.

Mplx Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of MPLX opened at $48.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.68. Mplx has a 1-year low of $43.54 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 30.95% and a net margin of 35.44%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 216.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.