Our Thoughts on Magellan Midstream’s Latest Earnings

Image Shown: Keeping the many headwinds facing the energy infrastructure space in mind, Magellan Midstream Partners LP remains one of our favorite midstream master limited partnerships. Image Source: Magellan Midstream Partners LP – October 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 30, Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) reported third quarter 2020 earnings that beat both top- and bottom-line consensus estimates. The midstream master limited partnership (‘MLP’) space has faced enormous headwinds due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though the firm was still able to generate sizable free cash flows during the first nine months of 2020. Magellan Midstream is a modestly-weighted holding in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, and as of this writing, units of MMP yield … Read more

ConocoPhillips Is Buying Concho Resources

Image Shown: An overview of the pro forma asset base of ConocoPhillips and Concho Resources Inc. Please note that Concho Resources’ main operations are in the Permian Basin in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, a region that ConocoPhillips seeks to grow its exposure to. ConocoPhillips has an expansive upstream portfolio with operations worldwide, though its North American position is set to become a much larger part of its company-wide profile. Image Source: ConocoPhillips – ConocoPhillips & Concho Resources Transaction Announcement IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 19, ConocoPhillips (COP) announced it was acquiring Concho Resources Inc (CXO) through an all-stock deal. If the deal goes through as planned, each share of CXO will be exchanged for 1.46 shares … Read more

Our Thoughts on the Potential Acquisition of Concho Resources by ConocoPhillips

Image Source: ConocoPhillips – November 2019 Annual & Investor Meeting Presentation By Callum Turcan According to Bloomberg, the super-independent ConocoPhillips (COP) is currently talking with Concho Resources Inc (CXO) about acquiring the company. We do not expect that such a deal will come with a significant premium, and furthermore, and we expect that such a deal will likely be funded with equity. Our reasoning is underpinned by recent M&A activity in the oil patch, such as the all-stock acquisition of Noble Energy by Chevron Corporation (CVX) through a ~$5 billion deal that was completed in early-October. That deal involved Chevron paying a ~12% premium (based on ten-day average closing stock prices) at the time of the announcement, though please note … Read more

Our Thoughts on the Oil & Gas Industry

Image Shown: Crude oil prices, measured by the WTI benchmark, plummeted during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to fully recover. Declines in global crude oil prices have depressed prices for natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquified natural gas as well. We expect that it will take some time for the oil and gas industry to truly recover, and hefty net debt loads combined with onerous dividend obligations are making that a very tough task. Juicy dividend yields are a sign of the headwinds facing the oil and gas industry and are not a sign of strong underlying strength in those firms that are paying out generous dividends. By Callum Turcan Raw energy resources prices … Read more

Schlumberger and Liberty Oilfield Services Make a Deal

Image Shown: Schlumberger NV is combining its OneStim business with Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. The picture above is an overview of the combined company on a pro forma basis. Image Source: Liberty Oilfield Services Inc – Schlumberger to Contribute OneStim to Liberty IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On September 1, Schlumberger NV (SLB) and Liberty Oilfield Services Inc (LBRT) announced that Schlumberger would combine its onshore hydraulic fracturing business in the US and Canada, OneStim, with Liberty Oilfield Services. That includes Schlumberger’s pressure pumping and pumpdown perforating businesses in the relevant regions, and its frac sand business in the Permian Basin (West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico). In return, Schlumberger is getting a 37% equity stake in Liberty Oilfield Services … Read more

Exxon Mobil Puts on a Brave Face

Image Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation – November 2019 Guyana IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Near-term oil prices and most importantly, the oil price futures curve, have improved materially since just a couple of months ago when it looked like the sky was falling. For the first time ever, WTI turned negative in April 2020 for physical deliveries due May 2020 of light sweet oil to Cushing, Oklahoma, as storage options were limited (and arguably, many speculators had jumped into the market not fully aware of the risks they were taking on). Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) has seen its share price recover considerably since the drop, though we caution that management’s commitment to the dividend will prove a hard task if … Read more

Stress in the Oil & Gas Industry Grows as Major Energy Exporters Hunker Down

Image Shown: WTI is down almost 61% over the past year as raw energy resources prices were decimated by the news that OPEC and non-OPEC members couldn’t reach another production curtailment deal in early-March 2020. By Callum Turcan Raw energy resources pricing has crashed through the floor, so to speak, with WTI (USO) (US oil pricing benchmark), Brent (BNO) (international oil pricing benchmark), Henry Hub (UNG) (US natural gas pricing benchmark), and the LNG Japan/Korea Marker (pricing benchmark for liquefied natural gas [‘LNG’] deliveries to East Asian markets) are all trading at or near multi-decade lows as of this writing. The pricing for natural gas liquids (‘NGLs’), like ethane, propane, and butane, have also come crashing down (seen through Mont … Read more

Resetting Your Mental Model

Image Source: affen ajlfe A version of this article was originally published on our website October 6, 2013. Having the right mental model and using the right information can be the reason why you win or lose in investing. “What is the definition of timeliness? Many believe it is getting information to investors as quickly as possible after an event, or updating something every single day or week for immaterial information. I believe in a different definition of timeliness. I believe timeliness is using all information available in a mosaic approach to accurately predict the event before it even happens. Take Kinder Morgan as the latest example. We were the only ones predicting what was going to happen before it did. To investors, … Read more

In The News: Oil Price Slump Continues, GE Cutting Baker Hughes Stake, and Home Depot’s Outlook

Let’s take a look at some of the top stories from around the markets, including a number of energy-related headlines and what Home Depot sees in its near-term outlook. By Kris Rosemann Crude oil prices (USO) continue their recent slide as oversupply fears creep back into the fore. OPEC recently cut its forecast for 2019 global oil demand growth for the fourth consecutive month, and the cartel expects supply growth from non-OPEC countries to exceed demand growth in the year. OPEC noted that its expectations for oil demand growth to slow relative to prior forecasts goes hand in hand with recent downward revision in the IMF’s recent reduction in global economic growth estimates. President Trump continues to target Saudi Arabia … Read more

ETF Analysis: Energy

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