Not So Bright Prospects For BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP) At This Time

[[tagnumber 0]][[tagnumber 1]]It has been a fairly turbulent period for oil and gas companies recently. Slumping oil prices have not only brought about considerable losses, but also eradicated a huge chunk of the market value of a number of E&P enterprices such as BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:BBEP). As we srite this, BBEP stock is currently traded around $2.70 per share, which is exactly 88% away from its 52–week high achieved last October.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]Considering the continual downtrend in oil and gas prices, expecting a sudden rebound in BBEP and fellow oil producers would be quite far–fetched a guess right now. For lower prices shrink revenue flows, which will subsequently impact the company‘s net results. We lay emphasis on ‘subsequently‘ because BreitBurn has actually managed to hedge more than 2/3 of its annual production for 2015 and a little less than that of its forthcoming 2016 production. Yet, the company‘s most recent 10–Q revenue covering the period ended June 30, 2015 marks a 10% decrease on a year–over–year basis. Nevertheless, the Q2 top line marked a major improvement over the revenue streams realized in the first quarter of the year.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]][[tagnumber 6]]From an analyst‘s standpoint, it may not be the best moment to buy BBEP right now. Out of 13 analyst firms on Wall Street, only 3 have recommended the stock as a ‘buy‘ while the vast majority of them revolve around a ‘hold‘ status at best. Indeed, the company failed to even meet earnings expectations for the last three consecutive quarters, let alone beat them. What is more, the forecast for BBEP‘s net results for the next few calendar years is far from enthusiastic, either, with net losses expected through 2018.[[tagnumber 2]] [[tagnumber 0]]As for the short interest in the stock, it is slightly higher than normal. If all shorters were to close their positions simultaneously, they might need 3 to 4 days to do just that. Yet, there were 9 million shorted share of BBEP stock as of mid–August, a number that has remained consistant for six months now. When it comes to insider trading, it is important to point out the total lack thereof, at least for the last three months. Over a 12–month span, however, sales exceed buys by some 135 thousand shares of common BBEp stock, which s indicative of what insiders‘ sentiment to the stock is at this time.[[tagnumber 2]]