These Two Have a Competitive Advantage

Article Excerpt

Buckeye and Cedar Fair operate in industries that are difficult to enter, which limits competition. This competitive advantage should continue to let both of them pay above-average distribution yields, despite the difficult economy. BUCKEYE PARTNERS L.P. $37 (New York symbol BPL; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 48.4 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; WSSF Rating: Average) operates over 8,700 kilometres of pipelines that pump gasoline, jet fuel and other petroleum products. In 2008, Buckeye’s earnings rose 17.9%, to $183.2 million from $155.4 million in 2007, largely as a result of acquisitions, including a natural gas storage facility in northern California. It issued new units to help pay for these purchases. Consequently, earnings per unit grew just 3.3%, to $3.13 from $3.03. Revenue rose 265.2%, to $1.9 billion from $519.3 billion. The slowing economy has hurt fuel demand in the past few months. However, higher pipeline rates have helped Buckeye offset the lower volume. This let Buckeye raise its quarterly distribution…