MLPs
HMLP led all MLPs in performance this week after its very late 3Q earnings report Thursday helped the stock. CAPL’s founder bought back the GP this week, and its small investor base responded well. ET bounced back, helped by the quarterly re-investment of some of the CEO’s distributions. In the bottom 5, SMLP and EQM continue to struggle as the down-rating of problem G&P MLPs continues.
The rare triple repeat in the bottom 5 week over week: GLOP, CCR and SMLP. That kind of selling after the quarterly distribution and before year-end smacks of tax-loss selling. CAPL repeated in the top 5. On the YTD leaderboard, CAPL is now the best performing name, overtaking NS and USAC this week.
Midstream Corporations
WMB was the best performing U.S. midstream corporation this week. PAGP also caught a bid late in the week. OKE was once again among the winners. Tax loss selling appears to be a factor in the bottom 5, which included 4 of the same names we’ve seen repeatedly near the bottom this month and all year (AM, ENLC, ETRN, ALTM).
OKE broke above 40% YTD return (again) and sits atop the leaderboard ahead of KMI. On the downside, fresh lows were hit this week for ALTM, AM, ENLC and ETRN. Still no word on the offer made by Blackstone for TGE a few months back.
Canadian Midstream
Canada under-performed the U.S. midstream stocks this week. Oil prices in Canada were down and the spread between Canadian and U.S. oil widened to nearly $20/bbl. IPL led the group as the only positive name. TRP’s analyst day was catalyst light, but the stock held up okay relative to the group.
GEI’s strong run the last few weeks paused this week with the worst performance among Canadian stocks. On the YTD leaderboard, TRP remains on top, and every stock except KML has produced 25%+ returns in U.S. dollar terms this year.
