Alon USA Energy Inc. (ALJ)

[Timothy Smith]

$ALJ - Alon USA Energy reported adjusted 3Q13 EPS of -US$0.46, below both estimates and consensus of -US$0.29. Refining margins at both plants were weaker than our estimate.

A combination of deteriorating market fundamentals (narrowing crude differentials, WTI in backwardation) and significant downtime (FCC outage at Big Spring that management estimated cost -US$0.10/sh) led to a disappointing quarter for ALJ, with the company posting negative EBITDA in a quarter for the first time since 3Q10.