What: Shares of Tesoro Logistics (ANDX) declined just under 11% in the month of November despite coming off a very strong earnings report at the end of October. Much of the decline appears to be more a reflection of Mr. Market's view of master limited partnerships rather than of Tesoro Logistcs.
So what: In the days leading up to the month, Tesoro Logistics reported very impressive quarterly results. Adjusted EBITDA was up 105% compared to the same quarter last year, distributable cash flow increased 119% to $116 million, and it was able to increase its distribution coverage ratio for the first nine months of 2015 to 1.49 times, a sign that the company is bringing in plenty of cash to pay for its distribution and even reinvest in the business.
That excess cash generated by the business also helped the partnership pay for the $500 million in assets that parent company Tesoro (ANDV) just dropped down to the partnership. Thanks to the partnerships ability to fund some growth through cash flow, it only needed to raise half of the deal through the capital markets.
Despite these promising elements, Tesoro Logistics couldn't overcome the rather bearish sentiment across the entire master limited partnership space. The Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP -0.09%) in the month of November declined close to 10%. With that much headwind for the entire sector, it's going to be awfully hard for Tesoro Logistics to stand out from the crowd.
Now what: Yeah, Tesoro Logistics share price is getting beaten up, but the company's finances look in decent shape and the support of a large parent company like Tesoro will certainly help when it comes to things like access to the debt markets in these down times. If it can maintain its strong distribution coverage ratio and continue to fund some of its growth through excess cash flow, then it should be in decent shape and this monthly dip may just be the market misunderstanding this stock.
