BreitBurn Energy Partners LP Stock Downgraded (BBEP)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- BreitBurn Energy Partners (Nasdaq:BBEP) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, compelling growth in net income and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including poor profit margins, a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and generally poor debt management.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• BBEP's very impressive revenue growth greatly exceeded the industry average of 12.0%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues leaped by 565.6%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income increased by 47.3% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$94.75 million to -$49.97 million.
• BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. However, we anticipate underperformance relative to this pattern in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP increased its bottom line by earning $1.61 versus $0.60 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 80.1% in earnings ($0.32 versus $1.61).
• Despite currently having a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, it is higher than that of the industry average, inferring that management of debt levels may need to be evaluated further. Despite the fact that BBEP's debt-to-equity ratio is mixed in its results, the company's quick ratio of 0.54 is low and demonstrates weak liquidity.
• The gross profit margin for BREITBURN ENERGY PARTNERS LP is currently lower than what is desirable, coming in at 26.90%. It has decreased significantly from the same period last year. Along with this, the net profit margin of -84.50% is significantly below that of the industry average.

BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. engages in the acquisition, exploitation, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 6.3, below the average energy industry P/E ratio of 6.7 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. BreitBurn Energy has a market cap of $1.18 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. Shares are down 10.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

You can view the full BreitBurn Energy Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

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• BreitBurn Energy Partners LP Income Statement