Earnings momentum for
Macquarie Infrastructure Company
(
MIC
) has been on the rise due to higher sales volume and prices for
aviation fuel and gas products. This Zacks #2 Rank (Buy), provider
of liquid storage and handling (among other services) also offers a
healthy dividend yield of 5.9%.
Second Quarter Results
On August 1, Macquarie Infrastructure reported second quarter 2012
earnings of 24 cents per share, reversing the year-ago loss of 5
cents. Total revenue increased 4.6% year over year to $258.5
million, riding on expanded volumes of products sold and higher
energy prices.
Macquarie Infrastructure expects free cash flow for 2012 to be
$3.70 per share, up from the earlier guidance range of $3.50 to
$3.60. The expected rise in free cash flow is attributable to
strong operating results for IMTT and The Gas Company, as well as
reductions in interest expense at Atlantic Aviation.
Earnings Estimates Move Higher
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 has moved higher by 1.1% to
$3.65 per share in the last 60 days, while the Zacks Consensus
Estimate for 2013 edged up 0.5% to $4.05 in the same period.
Stable Dividend
Macquarie Infrastructure has consistently paid dividends since
2004, barring a suspension during the economic crisis of 2009 to
2010. The company raised its quarterly dividend rate to 62.5 cents
in August 2012 from the prior payout of 20 cents. The current
annualized rate of $2.50 reflects a dividend yield of 5.9%.
Stretched Valuation
Shares of Macquarie Infrastructure are trading at roughly 11.7
times the full year 2012 estimate with the PEG ratio at 1.01 times.
The price-to-book is at 2.79x, an 8.6% premium to the peer group
average of 2.57x. The price-to-sales is at 1.95x, a 156.6% premium
to the peer group average of 0.76x.
The company has a trailing 12-month ROE of 5.5%, compared with the
peer group average of 11.7%.
Following the earnings release, shares of Macquarie Infrastructure
have fared relatively better than the simple moving averages for
200 days of $36.21.
Macquarie Infrastructure Company LLC has an infrastructure business
in the United States and also operates liquid storage and handling
services in the United States and Canada. The market capital is
$2.0 billion and it has 2,059 employees. The company competes with
AmeriGas Partners LP (
APU
).
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