Examining Midstream C-Corp Dividends As Yields Rival Historical MLP Yields
Published Apr 23, 2020 on Seeking Alpha

The recent sell-off and consequential increase in the yields of the broader midstream space has prompted many income-oriented investors to consider both energy infrastructure MLPs and their historically lower-yielding C-Corp counterparts.
With the steep sell-off in the space, the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index's yield reached an all-time high of 15.2% on March 18 and sits at 9.6% as of April 21, even with announced dividend cuts included. This is well above the historical average yield for MLP-only indexes.
Similar to their MLP peers, several C-Corps have revised their dividend policies in the wake of lower oil prices.

Given their greater income, we have typically prioritized MLPs in our research covering yields and distributions (read more). However, the recent sell-off and consequential increase in the yields of the broader midstream space has prompted many income-oriented investors to consider both energy infrastructure MLPs and their historically lower-yielding C-Corp counterparts. The Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEI), which has a 75% weighting to US and Canadian midstream corporations and 25% weighting to midstream MLPs, has yielded 5.3% on average since inception in April 2013. For context, this compares to an average yield of 7.3% for the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (AMZI) over the same time period. With the steep sell-off in the space, AMEI's yield reached an all-time high of 15.2% on March 18 and sits at 9.6% as of April 21, even with announced dividend cuts included. This is well above the historical average yield for MLP-only indexes.
Similar to their MLP peers, several C-Corps have revised their dividend policies in the wake of lower oil prices. Through April 21, 13 out of the 51 total dividend-paying North American midstream companies have announced reduced payouts for 1Q20, including four C-Corps. The table below shows the four C-Corps that have announced dividend cuts, as well as the four corporations maintaining... Read more