5 Things Magellan Midstream Partners Management Thinks You Should Know

Last quarter was another one of those run-of-the-mill results from Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP). New assets coming online led to incremental gains we have come to expect from Magellan over the past several years. Over the next few years, it's looking more and more likely that management is going to step on the gas when it comes to growth. Not only does it have a large suite of potential assets in the hopper, but management is also making inroads to secure funding for those assets already.

Here's a selection of quotes from the company's most recent conference call that explains management's moves to get this growth plan off the ground, as well as where the opportunities lie in the oil and gas transportation business today.

Increasing funding options

One of the reasons Magellan Midstream Partners has been a better long-term investment among master limited partnerships is it has been able to avoid diluting shareholder value through equity issuance. According to CFO Aaron Milford, the company may start to deploy that funding option more in the future:

At-the-market equity programs are designed such that the company can issue equity on any given day and take advantage of current stock prices, whereas more formal equity issuances are announced in advance and at sold at fixed prices that may be below current market value. For a company that budgets for new projects several quarters in advance, this can be a more effective way to raise equity.

When asked why the company is pursuing this equity issuance capability when management has said it doesn't need to do it right now, CEO Michael Mears replied that it's in anticipation of several big-ticket projects that could get the green light rather soon:

One of the downsides of the Permian Basin black gold rush is that midstream companies like Magellan need to push through big projects probably faster than they would want to and stretch their budgets as a result. By having this equity funding arrow in its quiver, it will be able to keep debt within a range to maintain its investment grade credit rating.

Putting more capital to work in the Permian

Magellan is mostly known for its refined petroleum product pipeline and terminal network. That's to be expected, since refined products make up more than 60% of gross operating margin. When it comes to growth, though, Magellan's crude oil pipeline network has been the center of attention. It recently finished its Saddlehorn pipeline that delivers oil from Carr, Colo., to Cushing, Okla. Now, according to CEO Michael Mears, it wants to leverage its asset base in the Permian Basin:

That first expansion cost only a couple of million, so it was a very high-return project. Mears later said that the expansion to 475,000 barrels per day will be more expensive because it will probably involve more pumping stations.

Getting gun-shy when it comes to acquisitions

As is the case with just about every midstream company nowadays, the topic of acquisitions came up. In the past, Magellan was an active acquirer, but it hasn't made a deal since 2015. According to Mears, the reasons it stopped acquiring assets a few years ago -- the price was too high -- still applies.

Magellan isn't the only one with this view on asset prices. Enterprise Products Partners CEO Jim Teague said something similar this past quarter. Today, building new is much cheaper than acquiring existing assets is, especially in the Permian, where valuations are off the charts.

Crude oil is more complicated than many think

We still import a lot of crude, but crude oil production is growing fast. So the logical conclusion is that we will replace those import barrels with domestic crude. While we are likely to see some imports displaced by domestic production, that isn't the whole story. According to Mears, there are lots of other factors to consider here, and that's why Magellan is examining projects to build crude oil pipelines and export terminals in the Corpus Christi region in Texas:

There certainly isn't a lack of options for investment projects in the Gulf Coast region. A potential Corpus Christi terminal would give Magellan a third export facility in the Gulf and is likely to make it a major player in how crude oil moves around South Texas for many years to come.

10 stocks we like better than Magellan Midstream PartnersWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Magellan Midstream Partners wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 5, 2017

Tyler Crowe owns shares of Enterprise Products Partners and Magellan Midstream Partners. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners and Magellan Midstream Partners. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.