Kinder Morgan Reaches a Deal to Divest Stake in Canadian Spin-Off

Image Shown: A look at Kinder Morgan Inc’s (KMI) massive oil & gas infrastructure operations that crisscross North America. The natural gas midstream giant is selling its Canadian segment by divesting its 70% equity stake in Kinder Morgan Canada and the US portion of the Cochin pipeline to Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PBA). Image Source: Kinder Morgan Inc – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio holding Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI), a giant in the natural gas midstream space, finally reached a deal to sell the remaining stake in its Canadian spin-off. On August 21, Kinder Morgan announced that it had sold its 70% equity stake in TSX-listed Kinder Morgan Canada Limited (KMLGF) along with the US portion of … Read more

Tallgrass Energy’s Growth Runway Shorter Than Expected

Image Source: Tallgrass Energy LP – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Valuentum’s High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio parted ways with Tallgrass Energy LP (TGE) on August 1, as we wanted to reduce our exposure to the midstream space. We don’t like TGE as much as we once did and think it’s best to move on to better opportunities. Please note Blackstone Group Inc (BX), through affiliates of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, closed its purchase of Tallgrass’ general partner in March 2019 which included those parties acquiring a 44% economic interest in Tallgrass. In 2018, Tallgrass reorganized as a C-Corp which we were very supportive of. Additionally, the midstream company has been very free cash flow positive historically (when defined as net … Read more

Kinder Morgan Modestly Disappoints But Its Problems Are Transitory

Image Shown: Kinder Morgan Inc expects a lot of organic growth opportunities will be generated via surging domestic demand for natural gas and rising natural gas export capacity in the US. Image Source: Kinder Morgan Inc – IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Natural gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI), a holding in our simulated Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, reported second quarter earnings for 2019 on July 17 which generally disappointed. Problems at its Elba LNG development in Georgia and weaker realized prices for raw energy resources produced by its upstream CO2 segment held down Kinder Morgan’s financial performance. We appreciate Kinder Morgan’s focus on fiscal discipline and see several of its problems as transitory, other than the raw energy … Read more

Booking Holdings’ Quarter; Still More MLP Transparency Needed, More Reports

— Booking Holdings’ Quarter; Still More MLP Transparency Needed, More Reports —  In alphabetical order by ticker symbol: ALB, BKNG, DDD, ET, GPRO, JD, KDP, OSTK, SONO, YELP  —  Albemarle (ALB): Albemarle remains on our list of unique ideas in the chemicals space. The company is heavily tied to lithium production, and it has one of the lowest-cost positions for lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide (a source of sustainable competitive advantage). We view this as a fantastic opportunity, especially as it relates to expectations for a surge in electric vehicle demand in coming years. Though lithium represents just one portion of its specialty chemicals operations (it also produces bromine specialties and catalysts), the company’s diversification has rewarded shareholders with more than … Read more

S&P Global: “Enterprise’s shift on cash flow reflects ‘metamorphosis’ of US pipeline firms”

S&P Global: “While several major U.S. energy pipeline companies spent 2018 shedding cash-leaking habits and forging a more conventional financial structure as stocks languished, adopting reporting practices that are more accessible to the investing public could be a gradual process for the industry, if it takes flight at all.” S&P Global: “Enterprise’s shift on cash flow reflects ‘metamorphosis’ of US pipeline firms” Click here to read the article. Tickerized for holdings in the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP). Pipelines – Oil & Gas: BPL, DCP, ENB, EPD, ET, GMLP, HEP, KMI, MMP, NS, PAA, WES —– Valuentum members have access to our 16-page stock reports, Valuentum Buying Index ratings, Dividend Cushion ratios, fair value estimates and ranges, dividend reports and more. Not … Read more

MLPs Starting to Adopt Free Cash Flow?

Image shown: Since mid-June 2015, the price of an ETF tracking the midstream MLP energy space (AMLP) has fallen more than 40% while the S&P 500 (SPY) has rallied more than 30%. No changes to simulated newsletter portfolios. By Brian Nelson, CFA Hi everyone! Hope you are having a nice start to the week. I have some great news for investors. In my lengthy piece from last Tuesday, which can read here, I talked about how master limited partnerships (MLPs) may be starting to embrace the very important metric free cash flow. If you remember, free cash flow is generally calculated as cash flow from operations less allcapital spending.  On the other hand, distributable cash flow, or the most widely-disseminated metric across midstream equities, generally excludes growth capital … Read more

Kinder Morgan Reiterates Dividend Growth Intention

Image shown: Kinder Morgan’s pipeline network and estimated breakdown of 2018 EBDA. Source: Kinder Morgan investor presentation Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan has benefited from a significant increase in natural gas supply and demand of late, and it expects more of the same in 2019. Management continues to execute on its capital allocation priorities, and it reiterated previously-announced guidance for dividend growth in the years ahead.  By Kris Rosemann 2018 was a transformative year for Kinder Morgan (KMI). The once-troubled pipeline operator has come a long way in terms of capital allocation since its massive dividend cut in late 2015, but management continues to expect significant growth in the payout in the years ahead. The company’s growth in 2018 (fourth quarter … Read more

Upstream Oil Major On the Upswing

Image Source: Author’s Calculations and SEC Filings ConocoPhillips appears poised to grow its dividend thanks to a materially healthier balance sheet and an improving free cash flow profile. Volatile energy resource pricing will always be a long-term risk to the payout, but the near term looks bright for the upstream oil major. By Callum Turcan ConocoPhillips (COP) may present a strong dividend growth opportunity as it appears set to build upon its current 1.8% dividend yield. First, let’s cover exactly what forced the company to cut its dividend a few years back, and then dig into the potential drivers for dividend growth in the coming years. ConocoPhillips spun-off its downstream division and a large part of its midstream operations from … Read more

Hi-Crush and EnLink Join Growing List of MLP Simplifications

Image Source: EnLink transaction presentation A number of master limited partnerships continue to transition to more simplified structures as they attempt to become increasingly nimble organizations. By Kris Rosemann The ongoing trend of master limited partnership simplification transactions continued October 22 as proppant and logistics solutions provider Hi-Crush Partners (HCLP) acquired its general partner and slash its quarterly distribution to $0.225 per unit from $0.75 per unit. The now C-Corp used 11 million newly issued units to acquire Hi-Crush Proppants LLC for a total consideration of $96.25 million and eliminated its incentive distribution rights in doing so. Rationale cited for making the change is very similar to other similar transactions, including a lower cost of capital, wider appeal to a range … Read more

Salesforce.com: Completing the Package

Earlier this week, leading SaaS firm Salesforce.com (click ticker for report: ) made headlines acquiring cloud marketing platform ExactTarget (ET) for $2.5 billion in cash ($33.75/share). The move comes as Salesforce.com hopes to round out its product offering, and adding a company largely known for its email marketing platform helps the firm move toward this goal. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, excited about the transaction, explained that the landscape is changing, saying on the firm’s conference call about the deal: “There is no doubt our whole industry is changing, and the opportunity to create solutions in sales and service and marketing that are unified, that are mobile, that are social, that are in the cloud, that this combination of these two … Read more