EUROPE’S ENERGY CRISIS IS KEEPING ENERGY PRICES AND INFLATION HIGH
America leads the world in oil and gas production. We believe midstream energy infrastructure offers predictable cash flows to investors..
Comparing Conoco Phillips with MLPs
Around ten days ago Conoco Phillips (COP) and Magellan Midstream (MMP) both released their 4Q15 earnings, and held conference calls on February 4th to discuss them. This coincidence of reporting is about all they have in common, but it caused us to look a bit more closely at an energy company (COP) that truly has […]
The Math of a Distribution-Financed Buyback
We’ve been looking for examples of what happens to a pipeline contract when the Exploration & Production (E&P) company is under financial stress or files for bankruptcy. The question of what happens to long term contracts with Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) in such cases is becoming one of the more notable concerns, both for MLP […]
Why the Tortoise Beats the Hare
There may have been a time when the long view predominated among investors, but if it did it’s more likely to be a fable than an historical fact. We live in an age when far too many investors are necessarily familiar with the Vix index (an index of equity market volatility), and this makes the […]
How Do You Break a Pipeline Contract?
Given the collapse in MLP prices over the last six months virtually any explanation is worth considering. Operating results continue to be unremarkable – Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported 4Q15 financials last week. Their full year 2015 results were 4% lower than their budget; two thirds of the miss was in their CO2 business which is sensitive […]
Pity the Equity Analyst
This week I felt a pang of pity for a sell-side research analyst. Not an obviously sympathetic constituency, you might well retort. There are many other categories of employment more deserving of such consideration – indeed, probably too numerous to list here. But I did, and here’s why. This particular analyst (he’ll remain nameless because […]