Disappointment and Promise

Second-quarter earnings season is in full swing, and a handful of our Portfolio holdings have reported results and hosted conference calls. The biggest takeaway thus far: The precipitous decline in NGL prices has weighed on midstream and upstream MLP’s cash flow, especially in areas where producers are asking processors to leave ethane in the natural gas stream.

Although a number of our Portfolio holdings reported disappointing second-quarter results, distribution increases have come in bunches, and most management teams expect thease headwinds to dissipate over the next several quarters. In this issue, we review and scrutinize quarterly earnings and talk to Benjamin Shepherd, editor of ETF Investment Insider and Benjamin Shepherd’s Wall Street, for his take on the promise and perils of fund products that focus on master limited partnerships.

In This Issue

The Stories

1.
A steep decline in the price of natural gas liquids weighed on the second-quarter results of the upstream and midstream operators in our model Portfolios. Aside from this headwind, the Portfolio holdings that have reported earnings still show plenty of promise. See Under the Microscope: Second-Quarter Results.

2. With the universe of MLP-focused fund products continuing to expand, Roger revisits our favorite offerings and sits down with fund guru Benjamin Shepherd to discuss the perils of exchange-traded notes. See Fun with MLP-Focused Funds.

The Stocks

Linn Energy LLC (NSDQ: LINE)–Buy < 40 in Growth Portfolio
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (NYSE: KMP)–Buy < 82 in Conservative Portfolio
El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (NYSE: EPB)–Buy < 38 in Conservative Portfolio
Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP (NYSE: PVR)–Buy < 29 in Aggressive Portfolio
Kayne Anderson Energy Total Return (NYSE: KYE)–Buy < 27 in Growth Portfolio
ALPS Alerian MLP (NYSE: AMLP)–Buy in Fund Ratings
Alerian MLP Index (NYSE: AMJ)–SELL in Fund Ratings
UBS E-Tracs 1x Monthly Short Alerian MLP Infrastructure Total Return Index (NYSE: MLPS)–SELL in Fund Ratings

Stock Talk

Add New Comments

You must be logged in to post to Stock Talk OR create an account