Boston, MA 05/09/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P (NASDAQ:CLMT) moved up by close to 4% yesterday after Howard Weil started coverage over the company and Credit Suisse upgraded its rating for the stock.
Credit Suisse Lifts Rating
On Thursday, the research firm, Howard Weil, initiated coverage on the stock of the company with an Outperform grading and setting a price target of $33. In addition to this, the analysts at research firm, Credit Suisse, also revised their rating on the stock from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’. Credit Suisse notes that Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P (NASDAQ:CLMT) is in the process of concluding multiple large projects indicating a potential increase of its EBITDA by twofold by the year 2016. Moreover, the company is eyeing a minimum of half a dozen acquisitions under evaluation.
Robust Q1 Results
The rating revisions come a day later to the declaration of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P (NASDAQ:CLMT)’s first quarter results that topped the analysts’ estimates in terms of both revenue and earnings per share. For the first quarter ended on March 31, 2014, the company reported net loss of $49.8 million, that is $0.76 per share, as against the net income of $46 million or $0.66 per share in a year ago’s first quarter. The adjusted net income during the first quarter came in at $39.8 million or $0.50 per share, which excludes the impact of non-recurring debt and extinguishment costs of $89.6 million. The company generated adjusted EBITDA of $82.7 million in the reported quarter, in comparison to $53.2 million in the fourth quarter and $80 million in the previous year’s first quarter.The company reported revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter.
The increased sales of Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P (NASDAQ:CLMT)’s packaged and synthetic products resulted in jump of its gross profit in the Specialty Products segment by 16%. In the Fuel Products segment, decline in benchmark refined product margins year-over-year was compensated by a strong demand for diesel and gasoline at each of the company’s major refineries.
