Despite choppy oil prices, master limited partnership (MLP) Magellan Midstream (NYSE: MMP) has managed to produce record distributable cash flows (DCFs) over the past year.  But that’s not altogether surprising, considering 90% of the firm’s income is fee-based, leaving just 10% sensitive to commodity prices. It’s also why we’ve held it in our portfolio over at The Daily Paycheck since 2010. Magellan At A Glance For those who are unfamiliar, Magellan owns 9,700 miles of refined products pipelines that connect with roughly half of the nation’s refineries. It also operates 53 terminals that have 45 million barrels of… Read More

Despite choppy oil prices, master limited partnership (MLP) Magellan Midstream (NYSE: MMP) has managed to produce record distributable cash flows (DCFs) over the past year.  But that’s not altogether surprising, considering 90% of the firm’s income is fee-based, leaving just 10% sensitive to commodity prices. It’s also why we’ve held it in our portfolio over at The Daily Paycheck since 2010. Magellan At A Glance For those who are unfamiliar, Magellan owns 9,700 miles of refined products pipelines that connect with roughly half of the nation’s refineries. It also operates 53 terminals that have 45 million barrels of gas and diesel fuel storage capacity. That’s in addition to 2,200 miles of crude oil pipelines that feed storage systems from the Gulf Coast to the nation’s main hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Magellan doesn’t take possession of any oil or other liquids — it just gets paid for storage and transportation services. That compensation comes in the form of tariffs and fees (often under long-term contracts) based on the volume of oil and refined products flowing through its networks. #-ad_banner-#What’s New With MMP Thanks in part to a 4.4% tariff increase at mid-year, the company delivered record DCF of… Read More

Last week, I wrote an extensive piece detailing why big oil is having one of its best periods on record: Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) hauled in $6.4 billion in adjusted net income in the fourth quarter. BP (NYSE: BP) shattered expectations with a profit of $3.5 billion. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) banked earnings of $5.7 billion. That’s $15.6 billion from just three companies — in a single quarter. For the year, the combined earnings of the five super-majors — this trio plus Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Total (NYSE: TOT) — reached an incredible $80 billion. I also discussed why… Read More

Last week, I wrote an extensive piece detailing why big oil is having one of its best periods on record: Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) hauled in $6.4 billion in adjusted net income in the fourth quarter. BP (NYSE: BP) shattered expectations with a profit of $3.5 billion. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) banked earnings of $5.7 billion. That’s $15.6 billion from just three companies — in a single quarter. For the year, the combined earnings of the five super-majors — this trio plus Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Total (NYSE: TOT) — reached an incredible $80 billion. I also discussed why plans for a record $425 billion in spending on exploration this year should have investors excited. In that piece, I mentioned that I’m saving my top pick on this trend for my High-Yield Investing subscribers only, but that there were a number of ways for investors to profit.  Today, I want to spend a little time on just one of the big oil producers — specifically, BP (NYSE: BP).  #-ad_banner-#BP was no exception to the record fourth-quarter results posted by the major energy giants. The market was expecting an adjusted profit of $2.6 billion. The company delivered $3.5 billion, an… Read More

“A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” I was reminded of this line when evaluating fourth-quarter results in the energy sector. That’s because the big multinational producers are generating profits that aren’t just huge by corporate standards — they dwarf the GDP of some small countries.  Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) hauled in $6.4 billion in adjusted net income in the fourth quarter. BP (NYSE: BP) shattered expectations with a profit of $3.5 billion. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) banked earnings of $5.7 billion. That’s $15.6 billion from just three companies — in a single… Read More

“A billion here, a billion there. Pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” I was reminded of this line when evaluating fourth-quarter results in the energy sector. That’s because the big multinational producers are generating profits that aren’t just huge by corporate standards — they dwarf the GDP of some small countries.  Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) hauled in $6.4 billion in adjusted net income in the fourth quarter. BP (NYSE: BP) shattered expectations with a profit of $3.5 billion. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) banked earnings of $5.7 billion. That’s $15.6 billion from just three companies — in a single quarter. For the year, the combined earnings of the five super-majors — this trio plus Chevron (NYSE: CVX) and Total (NYSE: TOT) — reached an incredible $80 billion. Indeed, we are talking about real money. —Recommended Link— Create a 10%+ Income Stream for Life We’re sitting on a collection of the safest, most generous monthly payers available. And while $11,200 in dividend checks is a welcome addition to anyone’s income, investors also love racking up capital gains as high as 446%. Start generating a 10%+ income stream for life today from these consistent companies.. Even more impressive than the… Read More

S&P 500 companies have now posted healthy double-digit earnings growth for five straight quarters — maintaining a 20%-plus pace for a few of those. While the first quarter of 2019 could fall on either side of zero, full-year 2019 profits are expected to climb another 5% over last year’s record levels. In short, it’s been a good environment for dividend growth. That’s exactly what we like to see over at my premium newsletter, High-Yield Investing.  As my premium subscribers know, I keep tabs on companies that are likely to announce dividend hikes in the coming month and share my findings… Read More

S&P 500 companies have now posted healthy double-digit earnings growth for five straight quarters — maintaining a 20%-plus pace for a few of those. While the first quarter of 2019 could fall on either side of zero, full-year 2019 profits are expected to climb another 5% over last year’s record levels. In short, it’s been a good environment for dividend growth. That’s exactly what we like to see over at my premium newsletter, High-Yield Investing.  As my premium subscribers know, I keep tabs on companies that are likely to announce dividend hikes in the coming month and share my findings in regular issues. And while the companies mentioned may not end up being official portfolio recommendations right away, it’s always a good exercise that could eventually lead to another long-term winner. Here are four more prospects likely to reward investors with increased payouts starting next month. #-ad_banner-#1. Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE: APD) — APD is a leading global supplier of industrial gases. The company provides oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, as well as rarer gases such as neon and xenon. These products are marketed to many fields including aerospace, food/beverage, metals fabrication, and healthcare. With stronger sales volumes and… Read More

As a child, I wanted to be a weatherman. I knew more than any ten-year-old should about barometric pressure and relative humidity and spent countless hours in the winter staring at the radar praying for snow (understand, it’s a rarity in my home state of Louisiana).  Back then, one of our local network meteorologists never predicted any of the white stuff, even when his colleagues assured kids that several inches were coming and schools would be closed the next day. I hated that guy. But my ski gloves and sled never got much use — he was right 99% of… Read More

As a child, I wanted to be a weatherman. I knew more than any ten-year-old should about barometric pressure and relative humidity and spent countless hours in the winter staring at the radar praying for snow (understand, it’s a rarity in my home state of Louisiana).  Back then, one of our local network meteorologists never predicted any of the white stuff, even when his colleagues assured kids that several inches were coming and schools would be closed the next day. I hated that guy. But my ski gloves and sled never got much use — he was right 99% of the time.  Of course, you can’t really blame the weatherman for the forecast. They are simply the messengers. Please keep that in mind when I tell you the stock market forecast appears rather stormy right now.  I’d much prefer to say that conditions look lovely — but honestly, you might want to keep an umbrella handy the next few weeks.  Here’s what’s got me worried.  This chart shows the change in S&P first-quarter earnings estimates over the past 18 weeks. Back in September, analysts were anticipating a decent 6.7% increase. By December 31, that projection had been cut in half… Read More

Occasionally, I give Wall Street analysts a tough time. They tend to have a herd mentality, are myopically focused on the short-term, and are reluctant to downgrade stocks until trouble goes from bad to worse and the damage has already been done. That’s a bit like yanking a tiring pitcher after he’s surrendered a big home run. #-ad_banner-#But I never question the intelligence of these professionals, or their knowledge of the industries they cover. Spending all day, every day, analyzing one specific group (whether its airlines, utilities or biotechnology) affords a deep understanding of those businesses and their operating environments. Read More

Occasionally, I give Wall Street analysts a tough time. They tend to have a herd mentality, are myopically focused on the short-term, and are reluctant to downgrade stocks until trouble goes from bad to worse and the damage has already been done. That’s a bit like yanking a tiring pitcher after he’s surrendered a big home run. #-ad_banner-#But I never question the intelligence of these professionals, or their knowledge of the industries they cover. Spending all day, every day, analyzing one specific group (whether its airlines, utilities or biotechnology) affords a deep understanding of those businesses and their operating environments. I might not always agree with their conclusions, but if an analyst says a retailer’s debt maturities look problematic or a manufacturer might benefit from favorable foreign currency translation, I value their insight and opinion. They know who is gaining market share, where regulatory changes are headed and when disruptive new products will be released. They also know how stock prices behave. So, I find their target prices informative.  Take wireless tower owner Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI), a former holding in my premium newsletter, High-Yield Investing. In late December, with shares trading near the $100 mark, analysts had a consensus… Read More