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MPLX LP (MPLX) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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MPLX LP (MPLX - Free Report) closed at $53.30 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.06% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.64%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.23%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.69%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the company had lost 3.56% lagged the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 1.8% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of MPLX LP in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.1, reflecting a 2.8% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.4 billion, up 10.97% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $4.75 per share and revenue of $13.15 billion. These totals would mark changes of +12.83% and 0%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for MPLX LP should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. MPLX LP currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that MPLX LP has a Forward P/E ratio of 12.24 right now. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 15.65.

The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 42, which puts it in the top 18% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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