Cedar Fair expands winter offerings

Article Excerpt

CEDAR FAIR L.P. $65 (New York symbol FUN; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Units outstanding: 56.4 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cedarfair.com) owns 11 amusement parks, three water parks (one indoor) and four hotels. In the first quarter ended March 25, 2018, revenue rose 13.2%, to $54.7 million from $48.3 million a year earlier. That was due to new winter-related events at three parks. However, due to the additional costs of those events, as well as higher minimum wage rates, Cedar Fair’s loss expanded to $1.49 a unit from $1.16. The partnership typically loses money in the first quarter, as most of its parks close for the winter. Beginning with the December 2017 payment, Cedar Fair raised its quarterly distribution by 4.1%, to $0.89 a unit from $0.855. The new annual rate of $3.56 yields a high 5.5%. Cedar Fair is a buy. buy…