Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Plans $1.08 Quarterly Dividend

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of 1.0765 per share by the pipeline company on Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th.

Mplx has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 9 years. Mplx has a payout ratio of 88.7% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Mplx to earn $4.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.30 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 92.3%.

Mplx Stock Down 0.5%

MPLX traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.97. 162,436 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,414,715. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $44.60 and a fifty-two week high of $57.15. The company has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.97.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted 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 net margin of 37.61% and a return on equity of 34.14%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research raised Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Mplx Company Profile

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.