Latest Acquisition Should Lift Payout

Article Excerpt

BUCKEYE PARTNERS L.P. $46 (New York symbol BPL; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 48.0 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) has sold 2.3 million units to the public at $44.65 each. Buckeye will use the proceeds of $102.7 million to help pay for its recent $145.5 million purchase of Farm & Home Oil Co., a Pennsylvania-based wholesale distributor of home heating oil and gasoline. Buckeye has a long history of growing by acquisition, which adds risk. However, financing new purchases with units helps conserve cash and keeps its debt level down. Buckeye currently pays an annual distribution of $3.35 a unit, which yields 7.3%. These new operations will immediately increase Buckeye’s cash flow, and help it expand its payout. Buckeye is a buy. buy…