Investopedia: Can A Change In Priorities Drive Better Distributions From ETP?

A well-run energy MLP can be a beautiful thing for an investor whose inclinations run towards income. With the largest gas pipeline network in Texas and a growing focus on natural gas liquids (NGL), quality of assets is not an issue with Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE:ETP). The issue for shareholders, though, is whether this is the best play on these assets and whether the aggressive asset growth plans will translate into better distribution growth in the near future.

Q4 Results Not All That Great  
Although Energy Transfer Partners did report 17% year-on-year growth in EBITDA for the fourth quarter that was nevertheless about 4% below consensus expectations. That's admittedly not a big miss, but small percentages matter more with energy MLPs and investors' moods were not improved by the below-expectation distributions that the company announced. (For related reading, see EBITDA: Challenging The Calculation.)

Read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Can-A-Change-In-Priorities-Drive-Better-Distributions-From-ETP--ETP-ETE-APU-TGRP-EPD0321.aspx