Duncan Energy Partners LP

Duncan Energy Partners LP (DEP - Snapshot Report) recently reported excellent fourth-quarter and full-year results that demonstrate the company's ability to grow its earnings in spite of lower energy prices and a weak consumer environment.

Company Description

Duncan Energy Partners LP gathers, transports and stores natural gas and petrochemicals in the United States. The company has a market cap of $341 million.

Fourth-Quarter Results

Duncan reported impressive fourth-quarter results on Feb 2 that were ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue was up 7.3% from last year to $323.4 million. Income came in at $10.8 million, up from $6.8 million, producing earnings of 39 cents per share, 9 cents ahead of the consensus estimate.

The results include the company's recent acquisition of three midstream energy companies acquired from Enterprise Products Partners LP for a deal worth $730 million in cash and stock.

Full-Year Results

Duncan's full-year results were equally impressive, with full-year revenue up 30% from last year to $1.6 billion. Income was up huge, to $47.9 million from $3.6 million last year.

Balance Sheet Statistics

Duncan provided some color concerning the status of its balance sheet, saying it had about $484.3 million loan outstanding, and total liquidity of about $110 million. The company also said it had unrestricted access to the partnerships revolving $300 million line of credit.

Analyst Estimates

Analyst estimates still look solid in spite of a recent very marginal downgrade. The current-year estimate is down 2 cents to $1.36 per share. The next-year estimate is down 11 cents to $1.48, a 9% earnings growth projection.

Valuations Based upon the current-year estimate, this stock has a forward P/E multiple of 12X, in line with the overall market.

The Chart

Shares of DEP have been on the rise since bottoming out around $9.50 in late November. Since then, this stock has topped off above the $18 mark, matching a 4-month high. Take a look at the chart below.