The largest 20 dividend paying MLPs in the Alerian MLP index have a wide range of ratings for near term total return from Very Bullish to Very Bearish, according to the Thompson Reuters StarMine rating system.
Only five of the 20 MLPs have a Bullish or Very Bullish ratings (score of 7.1 or more).
| Name | Symbol | SM Rating |
| Targa Resources Partners LP | NGLS | 9.4 |
| Enterprise Products Partners LP | EPD | 9.0 |
| Plains All American Pipeline LP | PAA | 8.5 |
| Sunoco Logistics Partners LP | SXL | 8.2 |
| Genesis Energy LP | GEL | 7.3 |
| Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP | KMP | 6.7 |
| Western Gas Partners LP | WES | 6.2 |
| Magellan Midstream Partners LP | MMP | 6.1 |
| ONEOK Partners LP | OKS | 5.6 |
| MarkWest Energy Partners LP | MWE | 4.5 |
| NuStar Energy LP | NS | 3.2 |
| Energy Transfer Equity LP | ETE | 3.1 |
| Williams Partners LP | WPZ | 2.7 |
| Regency Energy Partners LP | RGP | 2.6 |
| Buckeye Partners LP | BPL | 2.3 |
| Enbridge Energy Partners LP | EEP | 2.2 |
| El Paso Pipeline Partners LP | EPB | 1.5 |
| Energy Transfer Partners LP | ETP | 1.2 |
| Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP | BWP | 1.0 |
| Copano Energy LLC | CPNO | 0.7 |
Thompson Reuters StarMine Ratings:
The system uses a 10 point scale:
- Ratings from 3 through 7 are various levels of Neutral.
- Ratings between 1 and less than 3 are Bearish.
- Ratings below 1 are Very Bearish.
- Ratings greater than 7 through 9 are Bullish.
- Ratings greater than 9 are Very Bullish.
Further explanation of the StarMine system is available on our blog.
Relative Performance Vs. Alerian MLP Index ETN:
Consistent with the StarMine ratings, each of the five MLPs have a one year percentage performance ahead of AMJ, the ETN based on the full Alerian MLP index.
Perhaps heavily influenced by the chart trends as much as anything else, analyst ratings generally (but not exactly) correspond with the performance in the past year relative to AMJ (representing the overall index).
Disclosure: QVM has positions in AMJ as of the creation date of this article (May 2, 2012).
General Disclaimer: This article provides opinions and information, but does not contain recommendations or personal investment advice to any specific person for any particular purpose. Do your own research or obtain suitable personal advice. You are responsible for your own investment decisions. This article is presented subject to our full disclaimer found on the QVM site available here.
