Western Gas Partners, LP

Western Gas’s outstanding debt Western Gas Partners (WES) ended 2Q17 with a total outstanding debt of $3.2 billion, which was 5.2% higher than its debt at the end of 2016. The slight increase in the partnership’s outstanding debt could be attributed to a recent increase in capital spending and acquisitions. How Western Gas’s debt compares Western Gas […]

Targa Resources (TRGP) has the most “buy” among the four peers we’re analyzing in this series.

EQT Midstream (EQM) is the second-largest company according to EV (enterprise value) in the peer group described in this part.

DCP Midstream Partners (DPM) ended 2Q16 with a total outstanding debt of $2.4 billion, which is 1.9% lower than its debt in the previous quarter.

Boardwalk Pipeline’s 1Q16 earnings release is scheduled for May 2. Wall Street analysts’ consensus 1Q16 EBITDA estimate for Boardwalk Pipeline is $215 million.

Here, we’ll look at what Wall Street analysts recommend for EQT Midstream Partners (EQM). Around 90.9% of analysts rate EQT Midstream a “buy.”

The Henry Hub-Mont Belvieu fractionation spread fell to $10.1 per barrel for the week ended October 16, 2015.

Integrated energy stock YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF) was the second weakest on our list last week, and midstream stocks Western Gas Partners (WES) and Shell Midstream Partners (SHLX) ranked third and fourth.

Western Gas Partners (WES) rose above its 50-day moving average as a result of its recent rally, which might indicate a bullish sentiment in the stock.

The median target price of $95 for EQT Midstream implies a 26.1% price return in the next 12 months from its June 24, 2016, closing price of $75.4.

The Henry Hub–Mont Belvieu fractionation spread rose to $13.0 per barrel in the week ending May 13, 2016. The spread was $12.4 per barrel in the previous week.

A total of 63.0% of analysts surveyed by Reuters have rated EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK) as a “buy” as of June 28.

Short interest in Western Gas Partners (WES) as a percentage of float ratio has fallen to 1.5%. The ratio is lower than the 2016 average of 2.9%.

Wall Street analysts’ 2Q17 consensus EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) estimate for WES is $258.1 million.

Rice Midstream’s EV-to-adjusted-EBITDA ratio is 17.8x. Its current EV-to-EBITDA is above the past three quarters’ average of 14.8x.

The earnings of midstream companies do not have much direct commodity price exposure.

Analysts’ ratings for Western Gas Partners Of the analysts covering Western Gas Partners (WES), 53.0% recommend “buy,” 42% recommend “hold,” and 5.0% recommend “sell” as of August 17, 2017. WES had no “sell” ratings until it was downgraded from “neutral” to “underperform” by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in February 2017. Overall, the partnership has […]

Western Gas Partners (WES) and its general partner, Western Gas Equity Partners (WGP), are set to release their 4Q16 earnings on February 22, 2017.

Western Gas Partners (WES) shares rallied 3.3% on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, following the company’s 2Q16 earnings release.

OKE’s strong earnings growth in the first quarter was mainly due to strong throughput volume growth across its Natural Gas Gathering & Processing and Natural Gas Liquids segments.

The Henry Hub–Mont Belvieu fractionation spread fell to $6.82 per barrel for the week ended August 28, 2015. The spread was $7.03 per barrel in the previous week.

Western Gas Partners (WES) has the highest enterprise value among its select peers, at $10.4 billion. WES is followed by EQT Midstream Partners (EQM).

Noble Midstream Partners (NBLX) stock fell significantly in August and September as Initiative 97 was started and then made it onto the Colorado ballot as Proposition 112.

Crestwood Midstream Partners was the top gainer among midstream MLPs at the end of trading on Monday, September 21. It rose 11.51% yesterday.

EQT Midstream Partners (EQM) has an upside potential of 15.5% for the next 12 months. Analysts have given the company a target price of $66.6.

Western Gas Partners operates midstream assets located in major onshore producing basins in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

The high and low target prices for Western Gas Partners (WES) are $66 and $51, respectively. The median target price of $57 implies a 13.9% return in the next 12 months.

Natural gas gathering and processing is a significant part of the operations of many midstream master limited partnerships.

Barclays downgraded Western Gas Partners (WES) to “equal weight” from “overweight” last week.

The best performing midstream MLP on Thursday, June 25 was Western Gas Partners (WES). It rose 0.5% yesterday. However, it’s close to its 52-week low.

ENLK expects central Oklahoma region to become its largest operating region by the end of 2017.

EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK) is expected to keep its quarterly distribution flat at $0.39 per unit for all of 2017.

US drilling activity in February 2017 US drilling activity stayed strong in major shale plays in February 2017, driven by the slight recovery in commodity prices and the decline in drilling costs with the usage of efficient drilling methods. According to recent Baker Hughes (BKI) rig data, the US rig count rose for the seventh […]

Master limited partnerships or MLPs saw continued strong earnings growth in 1Q18 after a solid fourth quarter of 2017.

Plains GP Holdings (PAGP) was the most battered last month of the four in our peer group, witnessing a new YTD (year-to-date) low of $19.8 in August.

The Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) fell 2.94% in the week ended September 11. The ETF tracks an index of 23 midstream MLP companies.

On a broad level, 50.0% of analysts rate Summit Midstream Partners a “buy,” 42.0% rate it a “hold,” and the remaining 8.0% rate it a “sell.”

Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has a capital budget of $3.9 billion for 2017, of which $1.7 billion was spent in the first half of the year.

Western Gas Partners is lagging behind its peers in terms of operating margin.

Western Refining Logistics (WNRL) was the top gainer among midstream MLPs at the end of trading on Wednesday, August 26. It rose 4.98%.

In this series, we’ll look at the historical outliers in midstream energy, which have generated massive wealth amid turbulent times.

In this part of our series, we’ll look at Wall Street analysts’ recommendations for EQT Midstream Partners (EQM).

The Henry Hub-Mont Belvieu fractionation spread, or frac spread, fell by 13.8% to $7.7 per barrel by the end of the week ending July 29, 2016.

Earnings in 3Q17 Midstream MLP Western Gas Partners (WES), which is mainly involved in natural gas gathering and processing, posted a 7.3% YoY (year-over-year) fall in its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) in 3Q17. Moreover, the partnership missed its EBITDA estimate by 0.7%. The YoY decline in the MLP’s 3Q17 EBITDA was mainly […]

In this series, we’ll perform a comparative analysis of four MLPs’ general partners: Energy Transfer Equity, Plains GP Holdings, Western Gas Equity Partners, and EnLink Midstream LLC.

Enable Midstream Partners (ENBL) ended 3Q16 with a total outstanding debt of $3.1 billion, which is $442.0 million higher than at the end of 2015.

Short interest in DCP Midstream was ~5.6 million shares on June 27, 2017. At the same time, its short interest as a percentage of float ratio was 3.8%, the highest among its selected peers.

As of April 11, TC PipeLines’ total YTD return was about -2.4%. TCP is trading 4% above its 50-day moving average and 5% below its 200-day moving average.

EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK) and its GP (general partner), EnLink Midstream (ENLC), are scheduled to release their 2Q17 earnings on August 1, 2017.

EPD’s Petrochemical segment’s operating income has been increasing since 2010 due to higher propylene sales margins and lower maintenance expenses.

On October 12, 2017, Western Gas Partners (WES) announced its 3Q17 distribution ahead of its earnings release. It declared a distribution of $0.905 per share.

Crestwood Equity Partners (CEQP) has fallen 87.1% in the past year. CEQP’s underperformance can be attributed to its stagnant distributions, declining throughput volumes, and high leverage.

Investors looking to take advantage of the recent US shale energy boom can invest in energy-oriented MLPs. They represent the majority of the MLP universe.

Several midstream stocks hit their respective 52-week lows in the last five days. Crude oil prices took a hit yesterday amid concerns over trade talks.

Energy Transfer (ET) offers an estimated upside of more than 43%. The company has a median target price of $21.1.

Western Midstream Partners (WES) offers a solid potential upside of more than 30% compared to its current market price of $31.85.

Chevron (CVX) has agreed to acquire Anadarko (APC) in a cash and equity deal.

Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP) offers a potential upside of more than 21% based on analysts’ median target price of $73.2.

On November 2–9, midstream stock Western Gas Partners (WES) gained the most on our list of energy stocks.

On October 9, Antero Midstream Partners (AM) and Antero Midstream GP (AMGP) announced a simplification transaction.

Andeavor Logistics, Magellan Midstream Partners, and Plains All American Pipeline, top Alerian MLP Index constituents by market capitalization, are trading at price-to-DCF ratios higher than the peer average.

The EIA reported that US natural gas inventories increased by 35 Bcf (billion cubic feet) to 2,308 Bcf on July 20–27.

Crestwood Equity Partners (CEQP) was trading 4.0% above its 50-day SMA (simple moving average) and 22.0% above its 200-day SMA on July 13.

Anadarko Petroleum’s (APC) DJ Basin upstream operations are to receive $1 billion–$1.5 billion in capex this year. Per Anadarko Petroleum management, free cash flow from the region is expected to surpass $1 billion.

Capital Research Global Investors added a major position in ONEOK (OKE) during the first quarter.

OKE has the highest forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 14.7x among the selected peers.

ONEOK has the lowest distribution yield of 4.8% among selected peers, which could be attributed to the partnership’s strong distribution growth guidance supported by its strong earnings growth potential and impressive distribution coverage.

In this article, we’ll look at the 2018 capital spending plans of the four selected peers.

The Permian region, which is currently the most prolific basin in the US, continues to experience strong drilling activity.

Brookfield Investment Management added a major position of 4.3 million shares in Western Gas Partners (WES) during the first quarter.

Western Gas Partners expects to grow its distribution at a fixed rate of 1.5 cents per quarter for the remainder of 2018.

Credit Suisse initiated coverage on CVR Refining (CVRR) with a “neutral” rating and assigned a target price of $14.

Western Gas Equity Partners (WGP), the MLP GP (general partner) of Western Gas Partners (WES), has fallen 11.1% since the start of this year.

MLPs’ distribution yield has risen recently due to the massive correction, and the peers we’re analyzing in this series are no different.

Cheniere Energy Partners (CQP), the MLP midstream subsidiary of Cheniere Energy (LNG), saw an upward revision of its target price last week.

All four of the peers we’re analyzing in this series—DCP Midstream (DCP), Western Gas Partners (WES), OKEOK (OKE), and Targa Resource Corporation (TRGP)—have leverage ratios within or below the industry standard.

The Permian region, which is currently the United States’ most prolific basin, continues to experience strong drilling activity.

In the previous part of this series, we looked at the recent operating performance for the four peers we’re analyzing: DCP Midstream (DCP), ONEOK (OKE), Targa Resources (TRGP), and Western Gas Partners (WES).

ONEOK (OKE) posted the highest YoY EBITDA growth in the fourth quarter among the four peers we’re analyzing in this series.

Midstream companies such as Kinder Morgan (KMI), Targa Resource (TRGP), and ONEOK (OKE) are taxed as C-corps, so the revised policy doesn’t apply to them.

In this part of the series, we’ll look at the recent institutional activity for Western Gas Partners (WES), the MLP subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC).

Tallgrass Energy Partners (TEP) stock has been volatile in 2018. The stock fell steeply at the start of February.

EQT Midstream Partners posted a strong 18.0% YoY (year-over-year) rise in its EBITDA during the most recent quarter.

Western Gas Partners (WES) posted a 1.8% YoY (year-over-year) rise in its adjusted EBITDA in 4Q17.

Williams Partners’ (WPZ) Atlantic Gulf segment posted a 4.6% YoY decline in its adjusted EBITDA during the fourth quarter.

Williams Partners’ (WPZ) Atlantic Gulf segment is expected to benefit in 4Q17 from the Transco expansion projects placed into service.

Natural gas processing capacity Natural gas processing is the process of separating dry natural gas from natural gas plant liquids (or NGPL). The process involves the removal of water, carbon dioxide, sulfur, and the like because they could potentially cause mechanical issues during pipeline transit. The increase in natural gas production in the Appalachian region has therefore […]

Energy Transfer Equity’s (ETE) distribution income fell to $317 million in 3Q17, compared to $344 million in the same quarter of prior year, a year-over-year fall of 7.8%.

DCP Midstream (DCP) has the highest total outstanding debt among our select peers. DCP’s total outstanding debt was $5.2 billion as of September 30.

Among the top institutional holders in WGP, ~1.3 million positions were added, which indicates a bullish sentiment toward the stock.

According to the EIA, crude oil production in the Permian region rose 21.4% YoY (year-over-year) in 3Q17, while natural gas production grew 16.7% YoY.

EnLink Midstream LLC (ENLC), the GP (general partner) of EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK), was raised by UBS to a “buy.”

Western Gas Partners was trading at a price-to-DCF multiple of 9.5x at the end of 2Q17. It’s trading at a price-to-DCF multiple of 8.5x as of October 17, 2017.

Western Gas Partners’ natural gas volumes were 3.5 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) in 2Q17 compared to 3.9 Bcf/d in 2Q16, a YoY fall of 10.3%.

Western Gas Partners (WES) and its GP (general partner) Western Gas Equity Partners (WGP) are scheduled to release their 3Q17 earnings on October 31, 2017.

Ferrellgas Partners (FGP), which is involved in propane logistics and distribution, was the top MLP loser in the week ending September 22.

According to PWC’s 1Q17 report, the upstream sector generated 32 deals, or 60%, of the total deals in 1Q17.

The four MLP partners we’ll compare in this series are Energy Transfer Equity, Western Gas Equity Partners, Plains GP Holdings, and Williams Companies.

BPL recently announced its plans to enter the prolific Permian Basin, where it plans to build a 600-mile haul pipeline.

Western Gas Partners’ moving averages Western Gas Partners (WES) is trading at a significant discount to its short-term (50-day) and longer-term (200-day) moving averages due to recent weakness. The partnership was trading 7.6% below its 50-day SMA (simple moving average) and 14.2% below its 200-day SMA as of August 17, which may indicate a bearish sentiment […]