Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Short Interest Update

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.89. 1,749,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,927,670. The business’s 50 day moving average is $49.99 and its 200-day moving average is $46.46. The company has a market capitalization of $54.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a 1-year low of $38.22 and a 1-year high of $54.52.

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

Mplx Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPLX. 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 boosted their price target on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the third quarter worth $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 139.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.