Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.45 EPS

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.45, Zacks reports. Mplx had a net margin of 37.61% and a return on equity of 34.48%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion.

Mplx Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Mplx stock traded down $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $51.56. 1,054,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,596,088. The company has a market capitalization of $52.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.21 and a 200 day moving average of $50.69. Mplx has a one year low of $44.60 and a one 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.4%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Mplx by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 908,937 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $46,819,000 after purchasing an additional 30,331 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,988,000. HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in Mplx by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 215,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,084,000 after acquiring an additional 38,837 shares during the period. Militia Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 2,333.3% during the second quarter. Militia Capital Partners LP now owns 73,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,760,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 4.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 72,913 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 2,974 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPLX. Zacks Research cut shares of Mplx from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.50.

Mplx Company Profile

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.