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CBRE Global Investors is the investment management division of CBRE Group, Inc. the world’s premier commercial real estate services and investment firm. The company’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CBRE.”
October 11, 2015
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The MLP Index posted a 6.1% gain this week, its best week in more than 2 years, best since the first week of 2013. Investor fears are tentatively melting away, but they haven’t yet been replaced by greed. Since the bottom on 9/29, MLPs have been positive 7 out of 8 days, rising 24.1% over that span. But, the Index would need to rally 46.4% from here to reach 2014 peak levels.
Last week’s bounce saw money flow into the highly-liquid large cap MLPs in a reversal of negative sector sentiment. This week saw small cap MLPs catching up (Equal Weight version of Alerian up more than 200 bps more than cap-weighted AMZ). That’s what you would expect to happen when the market is in the later stages of stabilizing. Maybe next we’ll see further differentiation based on fundamentals, just in time for earnings season, which kicks off with KMI this upcoming week.
While MLPs have bounced, most analysts are calling for more volatility through year-end, based on still looming headwinds, whether its equity issuance, the old standby “tax-loss selling”, oil fundamentals and seasonal refinery slowdown, E&P borrowing base, or the potential lack of clarity on 2016 expectations during 3Q earnings. Despite those headwinds, MLPs have popped back above their 50-day moving average and held that level late this week, which is generally a good sign if you put stock into such things.
Winners & Losers
Week after week in the charts below, we pull from a database of around 100 MLPs that are (a) paying a distribution and (b) are not variable distribution MLPs (i.e. they are committed to trying to continue to pay flat or increasing distributions). Of all of those MLPs, amazingly only two were negative this week: WPZ and PAA. On the upside, upstream and small cap MLPs with commodity prices led the way. Not pictured below, gathering & processing MLPs were particularly strong performers this week (AM +21.5%, , MEP +19.1%, SMLP +18.5%).
MMLP fell out of the top 5 this week, replaced by USAC. On the downside, now that CEQP has completed its merger with CMLP, CEQP is now included in the bottom 5.
General Partner Holding Companies
GPs of midstream MLPs were universally higher this week, and the group outpaced the MLP Index after trailing last week. EXH’s separation transaction appears to be moving forward, which sent EXH higher this week. Targa updated guidance this week proved to be a positive for TRGP more so than for NGLS, as NGLS appear to be sacrificing coverage to maintain TRGP growth, and that was reflected in TRGP stock this week. CPGX and EQGP bounced back after last week’s declines.
News of the (MLP) World
Light MLP news week. Distribution announcements are starting to trickle in, and small growth capital projects on the processing side continue to get announced, but more often in JVs with producers these days. There was a preferred deal that went well. Also, there are reports of ETE/WMB/WPZ plans to sell WPZ’s 50% stake in a major natural gas pipeline that runs under the Gulf Coast to Florida.
Capital Markets
M&A / Growth Projects
Distributions / Other