Concrete Pumping Holdings (BBCP)

Mark Harding is the CEO of Pure Cycle Corp (PCYO), a growing water utility in Denver, CO. Mark rejoins The Stock Podcast to talk about the progress his company has made on the first two phases of Sky Ranch, a master plan community his company has been developing over the past decade. Mark also provides his perspectives on the oil and gas industry in the state of Colorado, his thoughts on the valuation of PCYO stock, what he’s been hearing from investors, and some insight into how he’s currently thinking about shareholder returns.

Steve Newby is the Founder and CEO of Summit Midstream Partners (SMLP). Tune in to hear Steve discuss Summit’s operations, his view on industry fundamentals, and what Steve and his team are doing to grow the business and improve cash flow stability. It’s a great interview that highlights the disconnect between a positive outlook and a seemingly mispriced security!

The CEO and co-founder of Sandstorm Gold Royalties (SAND), Nolan Watson, joins The Stock Podcast to talk about his company and a truly compelling investment story. Sandstorm Gold is a precious metals royalty company. Sandstorm helps finance mining operations in exchange for a royalty interest in the precious metals that a mining company produces. It’s a really interesting business model, and Nolan does a phenomenal job describing a company that screens as quite undervalued.

The interview really is truly fantastic, in my opinion. One of the reasons I like it so much is because Nolan has a deep understanding of how the investing landscape has changed, and he does a great job describing those changes. With the growth in passive investing, mining companies have been starved of capital. The end result is that it’s become very challenging for mining companies to grow. However, situations like these present opportunities and Sandstorm and Nolan are capitalizing and profiting from these opportunities.

Will Eglin is the CEO of Lexington Realty Trust (LXP). Tune in to hear Will describe Lexington‘s portfolio transformation from a commercial REIT to an industrial REIT, the outlook for the LXP dividend, and the most important insider’s perspective on the value in LXP stock.

Lexington Realty is a REIT that has been around for years. But the business model has changed over time. Today is one of those times of change, especially as management sees the writing on the wall with respect to commercial real estate values and rents. LXP has already started the process of transitioning from a commercial REIT to an Industrial REIT. In order to achieve this goal, management has plans for re-rating the LXP dividend to a lower level.

Despite the dividend pause, there appears to be value in LXP stock. At the time of this interview, net debt is down to a manageable 4.3x EBITDA, and the company has completely repaid its revolver. Management has committed to buy back shares, while at the same time determined to transform itself into an industrial REIT by acquiring industrial properties – potentially up to $200M of industrial assets this year alone.

Assuming the company can execute on their plans, the LXP dividend could be resumed at 55-65% of 2019 FFO. I’ll note that consensus pegs the LXP dividend at $0.40-$0.48/share. That’s down meaningfully from 2017, but still juicy enough for The Stock Podcast and rationale real estate investors to Lexington Realty’s shares.

Meg Gentle is the CEO of Tellurian Inc (ticker symbol TELL), a company that is developing a massive LNG export terminal in Louisiana called Driftwood. Meg joins The Stock Podcast to talk about Tellerian Inc.’s asset portfolio, US energy exports, and the LNG industry. If you don’t know what LNG is, you really need to listen to this interview with Meg. LNG is one of the fastest growing exports in the US. Why? Because the cost to produce natural gas in the US keeps falling, and with growing domestic supply, this commodity needs a home. And it’s companies like Tellurian that make it possible to send the natural gas to international markets. At the time this interview was recorded, Tellurian Inc. had a market cap of $1.9B, nearly $60M of debt, and a little more than $130M in cash, bringing the total enterprise value to just shy of $1.8B.

To summarize some of the key points, Tellurian is developing the Driftwood LNG export terminal. But what’s really interesting about Tellurian compared to other LNG companies is that they’re building an integrated system. That means Tellurian won’t just liquify the natural gas, but they’ll own a piece of the production, transportation, and liquefaction.

And by building an integrated LNG business, that essentially gives the Tellurian full control of its future. To put things in context as to why LNG exports are such a big deal, consider that about a decade ago, the US was importing LNG. But something interesting was happening in the oil patch during the early 2000s. Some small, intrepid energy companies were developing a new way to extract oil and gas from something called shale. As the frackers perfected this new method of oil and gas extraction, production costs came down and supply started to grow very rapidly. With the growth in domestic supply, natural gas prices declined precipitously. While it may not make gas producers super happy, the price of natural gas in the US has declined to the extent that the country will soon become one of the largest LNG exporters in the world. For producers, at least there’s a volume story!

Mike Garland, President and CEO of Pattern Energy (PEGI), is a wind energy veteran who leads one of the most formidable wind energy companies in North America. Mike provides an enormous amount of context and insight into the wind energy business and the outlook for the industry, as well as critical perspectives as to how investors should be thinking about the PEGI investment thesis.

The Stock Podcast, previously known as ‘Investing with the Buyside’, was founded on the belief that every investor should have the opportunity to hear a CEO or CFO of a public company describe their business, industry, and outlook. The chance to sit down and speak with management is called corporate access. However, you might instead be asking yourself, what is the ‘buy side’, why is corporate access so important, and what’s the difference between the buy side vs sell side? Well, please allow me to grossly oversimplify a very complex industry.

Bob Frenzel is the CFO at Xcel Energy (XEL), one of the largest and greenest utilities in the US. Tune in to the Buyside podcast to hear Bob breakdown everything you’ve wanted to know about utility investing. Topics discussed include the regulatory process, renewable energy, carbon-free target, replacement cost, and how to value utilities.

In this interview, you’ll hear Bob talk about some of the elements that are required for a utility to be, well, a great utility. You’ll also hear about Xcel’s carbon-free ambitions and what the company will have to do to achieve their targets. And here’s a spoiler, achieving a carbon-free generation portfolio isn’t solely based on wind, solar, and batteries. The solution is actually much more complicated than pundits would like you to believe.

Bob also does a great job of describing just what the regulatory process is like for a utility, how a utility justifies spending money that we, as ratepayers, essentially pay for, and Bob also talks a little about how a utility determines the rates that we as customers must pay. As someone who likes to talk about the future of electric generation and utilities, having Bob on the program is a real treat, but for me, there are two really interesting topics that are discussed.

The first is the fact that regulated utilities don’t generate a ton of free cash flow. That’s because they’re constantly reinvesting into the grid. The second relates to replacement cost or replacement value. I won’t spoil that last one. It’s a doozy, at least for the value investors out there!

Duke Austin is the CEO & COO of Quanta Services (PWR). Quanta provides E&C contracting services and comprehensive infrastructure solutions for electric and gas utilities, oil and gas companies, and the communications industry. Tune in to hear Duke describe his business, the outlook for US energy infrastructure and 5G build-out, and the financial goals Quanta is targeting.

CONSOL Energy’s CEO, Jimmy Brock, and CONSOL’s CFO, David Khani, join The Stock Podcast to describe the CONSOL investment thesis and the business of mining coal. CONSOL is one of the premier coal producers in the country. Tune in to hear management talk about the outlook for the business, the industry, and one of the most valuable coal assets in North America, the Pennsylvania Mining Complex.

Super League Gaming (SLGG) CEO Ann Hand joins The Stock Podcast to describe the investment case for her company. Esports is a relatively new commercial market, but it’s growing rapidly and there are numerous ways for companies like SLGG to capitalize on that growth. Tune in to here Ann describe a really interesting investment story.

Vistra Energy’s CEO rejoins The Stock Podcast to provide an update on the VST stock thesis. It’s always a pleasure to have Curt on the program to talk about his company and provide updates on the investment story. VST is one of my personal favorite investment ideas and Curt does a fantastic job of highlighting the key elements of the investment thesis. If you’d like to tune in to the first interview with Curt, click here!

Clearway Energy’s CFO Chad Plotkin joins the podcast to talk about the renewable energy business. Clearway Energy (CWEN), known previously as NRG Yield (NYLD), is one of the biggest owners of renewable energy facilities in the US. Tune in to hear Chad talk about the history of the company, the Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) acquisition, and how CWEN’s diversified asset portfolio differentiates this yieldco from the others. It’s an extremely insightful interview, especially for investors who want to learn more about the natural deleveraging that occurs for renewable energy businesses.