Energy Transfer (ET +2.05%) and Kinder Morgan (KMI +2.11%) are two of the largest midstream businesses in North America. Although both have cut their dividends in the past, they are growing them at a steady clip today. However, as artificial intelligence (AI) shifts the demand story in the electricity sector, Kinder Morgan is likely the better-positioned business, if you're willing to pay for it. Here's what you need to know to choose between these two midstream operators.
What does the midstream have to do with AI? There is a massive effort underway to build the infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence. However, at its core, AI is just a fancy computer program. It doesn't exist without electricity. The more AI infrastructure that's built, the more electricity is needed. Between 2024 and 2030, the International Energy Agency expects electricity demand from AI to increase "more than four times faster than the growth of total electricity consumption from all other sectors."
Image source: Getty Images.
The world needs more electricity in a big way, with some estimates that electricity demand will grow by 60% between 2025 and 2045. That's up from growth of just 10% between 2005 and 2025. Pipeline companies are a vital part of supplying this electricity because natural gas is increasingly being used to generate power.
There's more good news. Businesses like Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan largely charge fees for the use of their energy infrastructure assets. So while commodity prices can be highly volatile, midstream companies largely sidestep that risk. The volume flowing through their systems is more important than the price of what is being moved. In other words, Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan are likely to benefit from AI regardless of what happens to natural gas prices.
$34.43+$0.71 (+2.11%)
NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26
Which is better positioned: Energy Transfer or Kinder Morgan? There is a notable difference between Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan regarding natural gas. Natural gas makes up around 35% of Energy Transfer's business, while Kinder Morgan's exposure is 67%. In fact, Kinder Morgan claims to own the largest natural gas transmission network in the United States.
From this perspective, Kinder Morgan is better positioned to benefit from increasing demand for the natural gas used to generate electricity. If that is all you are focused on, it is probably the better choice for your portfolio.
ET Energy Transfer$20.45+$0.41 (+2.05%)
TXSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26
The problem is that Kinder Morgan's dividend yield is only 3.4%, which is far below the 6.7% yield that you could collect from Energy Transfer. To buy either for a dividend portfolio, you need to accept that both have both cut their dividends in the past. They are growing again, as noted above. In fact, slow and steady dividend growth is likely to be the norm for each at this point. Still, if income is your real focus, then Energy Transfer is the obvious winner. And, while it may not benefit as much as Kinder Morgan from AI's voracious appetite for electricity, it will still benefit.
What are you really trying to achieve? The simple answer here is that Kinder Morgan is more leveraged to natural gas than Energy Transfer. But that's looking at the comparison in something of a vacuum. Wall Street clearly knows Kinder Morgan is tied into the AI story, and it has been priced accordingly. That has left the stock with a relatively low yield in a sector known for providing attractive yields. In other words, if you are trying to live off of the income your portfolio generates, you may be better off with less natural gas exposure and more yield. And that could make Energy Transfer the more appropriate choice.
Kinder Morgan increased its project backlog from $9.6 billion to $14.4 billion in Q3, fueled by $5.4 billion in major natural gas additions. The company now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA to beat budget by more than 6%. Adjusted EPS is expected to exceed budget by more than 13%. KMI approved two major joint venture natural gas projects: The Southeast Connector and the Permian Link pipeline.
For the quarter ended September 2026, Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) reported revenue of $4.53 billion, up 9.3% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.35, compared to $0.29 in the year-ago quarter.
The reported revenue represents a surprise of +3.52% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.38 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.33, the EPS surprise was +6.06%.
While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health.
Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.
Here is how Kinder Morgan performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:
Realized weighted average oil price: $/68.65 versus the two-analyst average estimate of $/71.4.Realized weighted average NGL price: $/34.48 versus $/35.06 estimated by two analysts on average.Terminals - Liquids leasable capacity: 78.70 MMBBL versus the two-analyst average estimate of 78.60 MMBBL.NGL sales volumes - net: 9.88 millions of barrels of oil compared to the 9.8 millions of barrels of oil average estimate based on two analysts.CO2 sales volumes - net: 0.27 Bcf/D compared to the 0.30 Bcf/D average estimate based on two analysts.Total oil production - net: 27.07 millions of barrels of oil versus 28.2 millions of barrels of oil estimated by two analysts on average.Terminals - Bulk transload tonnage: 13.50 MMTon versus 12.65 MMTon estimated by two analysts on average.Segment EBDA- Natural gas Pipelines: $1.5 billion versus $1.41 billion estimated by three analysts on average.Segment EBDA- Terminals: $385 million compared to the $284.75 million average estimate based on three analysts.Segment EBDA- Products Pipelines: $172 million compared to the $290.54 million average estimate based on three analysts.Segment EBDA- CO2: $172 million versus the three-analyst average estimate of $195.07 million.View all Key Company Metrics for Kinder Morgan here>>>
Shares of Kinder Morgan have returned +7.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.2% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
AI power demand has emerged as a massive growth megatrend in recent years. Data center developers are scrambling to lock up the power they'll need to support their expansion. That's driving the need for new infrastructure, including natural gas power plants and additional pipeline capacity to supply them.
Kinder Morgan (KMI +1.96%) has emerged as a key beneficiary of surging gas demand. The company currently has the largest backlog of natural gas projects in its history after adding $5.4 billion of new projects during the third quarter. That should give the pipeline stock plenty of fuel to grow its 3.5% yielding dividend in the coming years.
Image source: Getty Images.
Adding $5.4 billion of additional fuel to its growth engineKinder Morgan recently reported its third-quarter results, which included an update on its expansion project backlog. The leading natural gas infrastructure company ended the period with $14.4 billion of capital projects in the backlog. That's up $4.7 billion from the second quarter after it added $5.4 billion of new projects and placed $700 million of projects into service. Of that total, $13.2 billion is natural gas expansion projects; it's the largest gas infrastructure backlog in its history.
The most notable recent additions are:
Southeast Connector Project (SEC): Kinder Morgan has secured enough long-term capacity projects to build the 470-mile, 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) pipeline to support growing gas demand in the Southeast, one of the fastest-growing data center regions. The company expects to invest $3.1 billion toward its share of the project's costs and to complete it in phases starting in the fourth quarter of 2030.Permian Link Project: The company will build a 434-mile, 2.8 Bcf/d pipeline to serve new power generation for a large data center customer. Kinder Morgan expects to invest $1.6 billion for its share of the $4.2 billion project, which it anticipates placing in service in the third quarter of 2030.Those are two of the largest gas pipeline projects to be constructed in decades. Kinder Morgan is also building two additional phases of the Creekside Lateral project to support data center and industrial customers, and has approved several additional smaller projects.
KMI Kinder Morgan$34.38+$0.66 (+1.96%)
NYSE · As of 10:43 AM ET 10/23/26
Clear growth through the early 2030sThese latest project additions significantly enhance and extend Kinder Morgan's growth outlook. The company already had several gas pipeline and other expansion projects underway that it expected to complete through the end of the decade, including South System Expansion 4 ($1.8 billion), Trident ($1.8 billion), and Mississippi Crossing ($1.7 billion), with phased in-service dates between the first quarter of 2027 and the fourth quarter of 2029. Its latest projects extend its visibility into 2032, as SEC will come online in annual phases.
Long-term contracts support its backlog, providing significant visibility into future earnings. The company estimates that its $14.4 billion backlog will generate $2.5 billion of future annual earnings once all phases come online. That's a meaningful boost from the $8.6 billion it expects to earn this year (nearly 30%). While that's spread over several years, it shows the company's long-term growth potential.
A high-octane dividend stockKinder Morgan has transitioned from a low-growth, yield-focused investment to a company capable of delivering stronger total returns over the next five years. It can deliver an above-average and growing dividend and healthy earnings growth as it executes its current expansion projects. Meanwhile, the company still sees additional expansion opportunities coming down the pipeline that would further enhance its growth. These features make it a compelling way to play the AI power boom.
Both midstream giants raised their 2026 outlooks and delivered nearly identical stock returns this year, yet one of them could quietly trigger a tax bill inside your IRA that eats into those retirement savings.
Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported record-setting third-quarter results and a surge in its project backlog, which reached an all-time high of $14.4 billion. Driven by growing demand for natural gas across the U.S., the energy infrastructure giant added $5.4 billion in new project approvals during the quarter — one of the largest single-quarter backlog expansions in the company’s history.
Key Takeaways
Kinder Morgan (KMI) increased its project backlog from $9.6 billion to $14.4 billion in Q3, fueled by $5.4 billion in major natural gas additions.
The company now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA to beat budget by more than 6%. Adjusted EPS is expected to exceed budget by more than 13%.
KMI approved two major joint venture natural gas projects: The Southeast Connector and the Permian Link pipeline.
Record Backlog Expansion Powered by Natural Gas Demand
The highlight of Kinder Morgan’s third-quarter update for investors is the dramatic jump in its project backlog, which surged by $4.7 billion net after placing $700 million of completed projects into service.
Management projects that the $14.4 billion backlog will generate $2.5 billion in additional EBITDA upon completion. This will bring the company’s total corporate adjusted EBITDA into the $11.5 billion to $12 billion range. This backlog expansion builds directly on the broader midstream trend of scaling up natural gas infrastructure to meet escalating demand from LNG exports, electricity needs, and industrial growth.
Two landmark joint-venture infrastructure commitments account for $4.7 billion of KMI’s share in new additions. This includes SNG’s Southeast Connector and NGPL’s Permian Link. Supported by 20-year take-or-pay contracts with creditworthy counterparties, these assets underline the durability of long-term natural gas demand.
Strategic JV Projects Target Power & Hyperscaler Load
The Southeast Connector represents a $3.1 billion net investment for KMI designed to transport 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas into the Southeast, with potential scalability to 3.5 Bcf/d. The project targets massive regional power needs, where interconnection requests for large loads exceed 200 gigawatts. This represents up to 8 Bcf/day of potential natural gas demand.
Meanwhile, the 2.8-Bcf/d Permian Link moves low-cost Permian Basin gas north to supply growing power demand in the Texas Panhandle. Notably, the project is backed by a 20-year contract with an A-rated hyperscaler, providing stable cash flows alongside future upsizing options through added compression, the firm said in a statement.
Both projects will come online between 2030 and 2032, providing meaningful visibility to future cash flow growth.
Guidance Outperformance & Capital Flexibility
On the back of strong year-to-date execution, KMI raised full-year expectations. It now anticipates full-year adjusted EBITDA to top budget by more than 6% (up from more than 5% at Q2). The adjusted EPS is expected to beat budget by over 13%. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA and EPS came in 6% and 15% ahead of internal budget estimates, respectively.
Additionally, KMI declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2975 per share ($1.19 annualized), reflecting a 2% increase over 2025.
Ending the quarter at approximately 3.5x leverage — the lower end of its targeted range — and generating roughly $3 billion in annual cash flow available for expansion CapEx, Kinder Morgan remains uniquely positioned to fund its record $14.4 billion growth backlog while maintaining strong balance sheet flexibility.
KMI is a holding in the Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR). ENFR is based on the Alerian Midstream Energy Select Index (AMEI), a composite of North American midstream energy infrastructure companies.
Companies primarily focused on natural gas pipeline transportation represent 36.0% of the index by weighting as of October 21. Additionally, companies that gather and process natural gas make up 27.6% of the index.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Energy Infrastructure Content Hub.
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Momentum investing is all about the idea of following a stock's recent trend, which can be in either direction. In the "long context," investors will essentially be "buying high, but hoping to sell even higher." And for investors following this methodology, taking advantage of trends in a stock's price is key; once a stock establishes a course, it is more than likely to continue moving in that direction. The goal is that once a stock heads down a fixed path, it will lead to timely and profitable trades.
While many investors like to look for momentum in stocks, this can be very tough to define. There is a lot of debate surrounding which metrics are the best to focus on and which are poor quality indicators of future performance. The Zacks Momentum Style Score, part of the Zacks Style Scores, helps address this issue for us.
Below, we take a look at Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) , which currently has a Momentum Style Score of A. We also discuss some of the main drivers of the Momentum Style Score, like price change and earnings estimate revisions.
It's also important to note that Style Scores work as a complement to the Zacks Rank, our stock rating system that has an impressive track record of outperformance. Kinder Morgan currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Our research shows that stocks rated Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and #2 (Buy) and Style Scores of "A or B" outperform the market over the following one-month period.
You can see the current list of Zacks #1 Rank Stocks here >>>
Set to Beat the Market? In order to see if KMI is a promising momentum pick, let's examine some Momentum Style elements to see if this oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company holds up.
Looking at a stock's short-term price activity is a great way to gauge if it has momentum, since this can reflect both the current interest in a stock and if buyers or sellers have the upper hand at the moment. It's also helpful to compare a security to its industry; this can show investors the best companies in a particular area.
For KMI, shares are up 5.26% over the past week while the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is up 2.38% over the same time period. Shares are looking quite well from a longer time frame too, as the monthly price change of 8.29% compares favorably with the industry's 1.33% performance as well.
While any stock can see a spike in price, it takes a real winner to consistently outperform the market. Over the past quarter, shares of Kinder Morgan have risen 6.66%, and are up 23.26% in the last year. On the other hand, the S&P 500 has only moved 3.58% and 16.4%, respectively.
Investors should also pay attention to KMI's average 20-day trading volume. Volume is a useful item in many ways, and the 20-day average establishes a good price-to-volume baseline; a rising stock with above average volume is generally a bullish sign, whereas a declining stock on above average volume is typically bearish. KMI is currently averaging 12,049,664 shares for the last 20 days.
Earnings OutlookThe Zacks Momentum Style Score encompasses many things, including estimate revisions and a stock's price movement. Investors should note that earnings estimates are also significant to the Zacks Rank, and a nice path here can be promising. We have recently been noticing this with KMI.
Over the past two months, 3 earnings estimates moved higher compared to none lower for the full year. These revisions helped boost KMI's consensus estimate, increasing from $1.54 to $1.56 in the past 60 days. Looking at the next fiscal year, 1 estimate has moved upwards while there have been 1 downward revision in the same time period.
Bottom LineGiven these factors, it shouldn't be surprising that KMI is a #2 (Buy) stock and boasts a Momentum Score of A. If you're looking for a fresh pick that's set to soar in the near-term, make sure to keep Kinder Morgan on your short list.
Key Takeaways KMI's Q3'26 adjusted EPS rose 20.7% to 35 cents, beating estimates by 6.1%, while revenues increased 9.3%.Natural gas transport & gathering volumes increased 3% and 14%, respectively, supporting record $2.18B EBITDA.KMI's project backlog reached $14.4B, while 2026 EBITDA is expected to exceed budget by more than 6%.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) reported third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 35 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 33 cents by 6.1%. Earnings increased 20.7% from 29 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Revenues increased 9.3% year over year to $4.53 billion from $4.15 billion. Revenues surpassed the consensus estimate of $4.38 billion by 3.4%.
Strong quarterly results benefited from higher natural gas transportation and gathering volumes, alongside improved contributions from the Terminals and CO2 businesses.
Natural gas transport volumes rose 3%, while gathering volumes increased 14%.
KMI's Natural Gas Business Drives GrowthNatural Gas Pipelines adjusted segment earnings before depreciation, depletion and amortization (EBDA) increased to $1.49 billion from $1.40 billion a year earlier. Higher contributions from the El Paso Natural Gas Pipeline, KinderHawk gathering system, Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Texas Intrastate system supported the improvement.
Transportation volumes averaged 49,273 billion British thermal units per day (BBtu/d), compared with 47,918 BBtu/d in the prior-year quarter. Growth primarily reflected higher liquefied natural gas deliveries on the Tennessee Gas Pipeline and increased demand for services on the Texas Intrastate system.
Gathering volumes advanced to 4,722 BBtu/d from 4,129 BBtu/d, primarily supported by stronger activity on the KinderHawk system.
Kinder Morgan's Other Segments Post GainsProducts Pipelines adjusted segment EBDA increased to $313 million from $288 million. Favorable commodity pricing supported performance, although legal, environmental and other expense accruals weighed on reported segment results.
Total refined products volumes declined 3% to approximately 1.60 million barrels per day from 1.65 million barrels per day, reflecting a higher commodity price environment. Crude and condensate volumes decreased 11% to 410,000 barrels per day, primarily due to lower Bakken gathering volumes and the conversion of the Double H pipeline to natural gas liquids service.
Terminals adjusted segment EBDA increased to $314 million from $274 million. Higher liquids contributions from expansion projects, stronger coal and petroleum coke handling activities and improved Jones Act tanker rates supported results. Liquids utilization declined to 92.6% from 94.6%.
CO2 adjusted segment EBDA rose to $184 million from $136 million. Total net oil production increased to 27,070 barrels per day from 25,040 barrels per day. The realized weighted average oil price increased to $68.65 per barrel from $67.74, while the realized NGL price rose to $34.48 from $31.09.
KMI's Operating Costs Rise Year Over YearTotal operating costs, expenses and other increased 9.3% year over year to $3.37 billion. Costs of sales rose to $1.57 billion from $1.40 billion, while operations and maintenance expenses increased to $949 million from $786 million.
Operating income increased 9.1% to $1.16 billion. The operating margin remained relatively stable at 25.6%, reflecting comparable growth in revenues and operating expenses.
Adjusted EBITDA reached a third-quarter record of $2.18 billion, up 9% year over year. Net income attributable to KMI increased 22% to $764 million, while reported earnings rose to 34 cents per share from 28 cents.
Kinder Morgan Expands Its Project BacklogThe expansion project backlog reached $14.4 billion at quarter-end, increasing $4.7 billion sequentially. The company added $5.4 billion in projects, partially offset by $700 million of projects placed into service. Natural gas projects accounted for $13.2 billion of the backlog.
Major additions included the Southeast Connector and Permian Link projects, designed to transport approximately 2.6 billion and 2.8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas, respectively.
More than 75% of the total backlog supports power generation and local distribution demand, highlighting growing infrastructure requirements.
KMI's Cash Flow & Balance SheetCash flow from operations increased to $1.59 billion from $1.41 billion in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow declined to $545 million from $621 million, while free cash flow after dividends was negative $120 million.
As of Sept. 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled $918 million, compared with $63 million at 2025-end. Net debt stood at $32.23 billion. The net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio improved to 3.5 from 3.8 at the end of 2025.
Kinder Morgan Raises Its 2026 OutlookKinder Morgan expects full-year adjusted EBITDA to exceed its original $8.6 billion budget by more than 6%. Adjusted earnings are projected to surpass the initial $1.36-per-share budget by more than 13%.
The company also expects its year-end net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to reach 3.6, compared with the original budget of 3.8.
The board declared a quarterly dividend of 29.75 cents per share, up 2% year over year. The dividend is payable Nov. 16, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Nov. 2, 2026.
KMI’s Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to ConsiderKinder Morgan currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other top-ranked stocks from the energy sector that are yet to release their third-quarter 2026 earnings are Baker Hughes Company (BKR - Free Report) , ConocoPhillips (COP - Free Report) and Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) . BKR, COP, EQNR currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Baker Hughes is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Oct. 27. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BKR’s earnings is pegged at 64 cents per share, suggesting a 5.9% decline from the prior-year reported figure.
ConocoPhillips is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Nov. 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COP’s earnings is pegged at $2.86 per share, suggesting a 77.6% improvement from the prior-year reported figure.
Equinor is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Oct. 28. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EQNR’s earnings is pegged at $1.38 per share, suggesting a 273% improvement from the prior-year reported figure.
Net Income Attributable to KMI: $764 million, up 22% year-over-year.EPS: $0.34, up 21% year-over-year.Adjusted EPS: $0.35, up 21% year-over-year; 15% above budg
Kinder Morgan, Inc. ( KMI ) Q3 2026 Earnings Call October 21, 2026 4:30 PM EDT Company Participants Richard Kinder - Executive Chairman of the Board Kimberly Dang - CEO & Director Dax Sanders - President David Michels - VP & CFO Sital Mody - VP & President of Natural Gas Pipelines Anthony Ashley - President of CO2 & Energy Transition Ventures Conference Call Participants Theresa Chen - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division Julien Dumoulin-Smith - Jefferies LLC, Research Division Jeremy Tonet - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division Praneeth Satish - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division Manav Gupta - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division Jean Ann Salisbury - BofA Securities, Research Division Brandon Bingham - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division Keith Stanley - Wolfe Research, LLC John Mackay - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division Spiro Dounis - Citigroup Inc., Research Division Gabriel Moreen - Mizuho Securities USA LLC, Research Division Zackery Van Everen - TPH Research Jason Gabelman - TD Cowen, Research Division Harry Mateer - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division Presentation Operator Good afternoon and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Kinder Morgan's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Results Conference Call.
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.35 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.33 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.29 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +6.06%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company would post earnings of $0.31 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.37, delivering a surprise of +19.35%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Kinder Morgan, which belongs to the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry, posted revenues of $4.53 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.52%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $4.15 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Kinder Morgan shares have added about 22.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.7%.
What's Next for Kinder Morgan?While Kinder Morgan has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Kinder Morgan was favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.39 on $4.61 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $1.56 on $18.34 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines is currently in the top 34% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB - Free Report) , has yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026. The results are expected to be released on November 2.
This pipeline operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +14.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.5% lower over the last 30 days to the current level.
Williams Companies, Inc. (The)'s revenues are expected to be $3.19 billion, up 9% from the year-ago quarter.
Plugging In: How Kinder Morgan Powers Up ProfitsKinder Morgan NYSE: KMI reported record third-quarter results and expanded its project backlog to $14.4 billion, led by major natural-gas infrastructure investments aimed at serving power generation, LNG exports and growing data-center-related demand.
Chief Executive Officer Kim Dang said adjusted earnings per share rose 21% from the third quarter of 2025, while adjusted EBITDA increased 9%. Every business segment contributed to year-over-year growth, she said. The company also raised its expectations for the full year, forecasting adjusted EPS more than 13% above budget and adjusted EBITDA more than 6% above budget.
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3 Dividend Stocks with Growth on Tap for the Second Half“We are delivering strong results today while continuing to build a longer runway for high-quality future growth,” Dang said.
Quarterly Results and Dividend Chief Financial Officer David Michels said net income attributable to Kinder Morgan totaled $764 million, or $0.24 per share, compared with the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EPS was $0.35, up 21% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA reached $2.18 billion, a 9% increase and a third-quarter record for the company.
Pipelines and Automation: 2 Energy Plays Built for Any Oil PriceThe company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2975 per share, equivalent to $1.19 per share on an annualized basis. The dividend represents a 2% increase over 2025, Michels said.
Year to date, adjusted EBITDA has risen 13% and adjusted EPS has increased 32% from 2025, according to the company. Michels said Kinder Morgan’s 2026 outperformance includes approximately $225 million from several potentially nonrecurring items, including Winter Storm Fern and extended Northeast cold weather, a terminals contract buyout, a favorable Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rate true-up and an unusually favorable Waha-to-Houston Ship Channel pricing spread. Favorable commodity prices added another $175 million versus budget, he said.
Kinder Morgan ended the quarter with net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA of about 3.5 times, down from 3.8 times at the beginning of the year. The company expects to finish the year at about 3.6 times leverage despite spending related to the Monument acquisition and higher-than-budgeted capital expenditures.
Backlog Rises on Major Natural Gas Projects The company added $5.4 billion in projects to its backlog during the quarter and placed $700 million of projects into service. Dang said the backlog increased from $9.6 billion to $14.4 billion and carries an average project multiple of 5.7 times.
Two joint-venture projects accounted for most of the additions: Southern Natural Gas’ Southeast Connector and Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America’s Permian Link. Kinder Morgan’s share of the two projects is approximately $4.7 billion. Both are backed by take-or-pay agreements of at least 20 years with creditworthy shippers, management said.
Southeast Connector: Designed to deliver about 2.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas into the Southeast, a region Kinder Morgan identified as one of the country’s fastest-growing demand areas. Dang said large-load interconnection requests in the region exceed 200 gigawatts, which could equate to roughly 8 Bcf per day of gas demand if fully developed and supplied by gas-fired generation. Permian Link: Intended to transport Permian Basin gas north to meet increasing power demand in the Texas Panhandle. The project is contracted with an A-rated hyperscaler, according to Kinder Morgan. Dang said Permian Link is expected to enter service in 2030, while Southeast Connector is scheduled to come online in stages from 2030 through 2032. The project timing extends the company’s visible growth runway beyond its previously approved developments.
During the question-and-answer session, President of Natural Gas and Pipelines Sital Mody said Kinder Morgan received more than 2 Bcf of interest during a nonbinding open season for its Tennessee Gas Pipeline 219 South project. He estimated the project could involve roughly $1.5 billion in capital spending in its initial, primarily brownfield form, though a larger 2 Bcf-to-3 Bcf-per-day project would require more investment.
Mody also said Southeast Connector could potentially be expanded to 3.5 Bcf per day, depending on additional signed customer commitments. Dang said Kinder Morgan already has enough signed commitments to move forward with a final investment decision on the project.
Segment Performance In the natural gas business, transportation volumes increased 3% from the prior-year quarter, supported by higher LNG feed-gas deliveries on Tennessee Gas Pipeline and increased demand on the company’s intrastate system. Natural gas gathering volumes rose 14%, including a 40% increase on the KinderHawk system in the Haynesville.
Products pipeline refined-product volumes declined 3%, while crude and condensate volumes fell 11%. More than half of the crude-volume decline resulted from the removal of the Double H pipeline from service for an NGL conversion early in the third quarter of 2025, Mody said.
Kinder Morgan also reached a final investment decision during the quarter on the Western Gateway project, which is intended to change how clean products are delivered to the desert Southwest and Southern California. Kinder Morgan’s total cash investment of $300 million, including a $250 million contribution to the joint venture and $50 million for non-contributed assets, was added to backlog. The project is expected to enter service in 2029.
In terminals, liquids lease capacity remained near 93%, while utilization of available tanks at key Houston Ship Channel and Carteret, New Jersey, hubs stood just below 96%. Export activity at the company’s Houston Ship Channel docks reached 427,000 barrels per day, up 39% from the third quarter of 2025 and an all-time record, Mody said.
The CO2 segment recorded an 8% increase in net oil production volumes, led by an 11% increase at SACROC. Renewable natural gas volumes rose 18%, which management attributed to improved operating uptime and hydrocarbon recovery.
Long-Term Natural Gas Outlook Executive Chairman Rich Kinder pointed to third-party forecasts supporting the company’s long-term natural-gas outlook. He cited Shell’s expectation that global LNG demand will reach nearly 750 million metric tons per year by 2050, up 65% from 2025, as well as North American Electric Reliability Corp. estimates for 225 gigawatts to 245 gigawatts of U.S. peak electricity-demand growth by 2035.
Kinder said the company currently delivers about 40% of U.S. natural gas, including approximately 40% of LNG feed gas and more than half of gas exports to Mexico. He said the $14.4 billion backlog could add roughly $2.5 billion of EBITDA once projects are completed.
About Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI)Kinder Morgan, Inc NYSE: KMI is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and other transportation and storage facilities. Its systems primarily support the movement, processing, and storage of natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other energy commodities.
The company's natural gas business transports and stores natural gas for utilities, power generators, industrial customers, and other energy companies. Kinder Morgan also operates refined products and crude oil pipelines, liquids terminals, and carbon dioxide infrastructure.
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HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kinder Morgan Reports Record Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results. Announces $5.4 Billion of Additions to Expansion Project Backlog.
In its upcoming report, Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) is predicted by Wall Street analysts to post quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share, reflecting an increase of 13.8% compared to the same period last year. Revenues are forecasted to be $4.38 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 5.7%.
Over the past 30 days, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been adjusted upward by 0.3% to its current level. This demonstrates the covering analysts' collective reassessment of their initial projections during this period.
Before a company reveals its earnings, it is vital to take into account any changes in earnings projections. These revisions play a pivotal role in predicting the possible reactions of investors toward the stock. Multiple empirical studies have consistently shown a strong association between trends in earnings estimates and the short-term price movements of a stock.
While investors typically use consensus earnings and revenue estimates as indicators of quarterly business performance, exploring analysts' projections for specific key metrics can offer valuable insights.
With that in mind, let's delve into the average projections of some Kinder Morgan metrics that are commonly tracked and projected by analysts on Wall Street.
Analysts' assessment points toward 'Realized weighted average oil price' reaching 71 dollars per barrel. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 68 dollars per barrel.
According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Realized weighted average NGL price' should come in at 35 dollars per barrel. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported 31 dollars per barrel in the same quarter of the previous year.
The consensus estimate for 'Terminals - Liquids leasable capacity' stands at N/A. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported N/A in the same quarter last year.
It is projected by analysts that the 'NGL sales volumes - net' will reach 9.80 thousands of barrels of oil per day. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 9.03 thousands of barrels of oil per day.
Analysts forecast 'Total oil production - net' to reach 28.20 thousands of barrels of oil per day. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 25.04 thousands of barrels of oil per day.
The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Terminals - Bulk transload tonnage' will likely reach 13 millions of ton. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 12 millions of ton.
The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Segment EBDA- Natural gas Pipelines' of $1.41 billion. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $1.39 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.
Analysts expect 'Segment EBDA- Terminals' to come in at $284.75 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $274.00 million.
Analysts predict that the 'Segment EBDA- Products Pipelines' will reach $290.54 million. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $288.00 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
The consensus among analysts is that 'Segment EBDA- CO2' will reach $195.07 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $135.00 million.
View all Key Company Metrics for Kinder Morgan here>>>
Shares of Kinder Morgan have experienced a change of +5.3% in the past month compared to the +0.7% move of the Zacks S&P 500 composite. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), KMI is expected to mirror the overall market performance in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
On Oct. 6, the Florida Public Service Commission approved a transportation tariff for Coastal Connect Services, a subsidiary of Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX +1.32%), aka SpaceX, to move forward with a pipeline to its Cape Canaveral site.
As part of this, SpaceX wants to build a 32-mile pipeline in Brevard County to tap into the Florida Gas Transmission Network (FGT), a roughly 5,300-mile interstate pipeline system jointly owned by pipeline operators Kinder Morgan (KMI -2.37%) and Energy Transfer (ET -0.74%).
This will help the company secure fuel at its Cape Canaveral location as it looks to ramp up Starship launches. But what does it mean for Kinder Morgan and Energy Transfer? Let's dive into the details and put it in perspective.
Image source: Getty Images.
SpaceX needs fuel for its new Starship rocket SpaceX's new Starship rocket uses liquid methane and liquid oxygen for fuel in its Raptor engine. Right now, it relies on hundreds of truck deliveries for liquefied natural gas (LNG) -- which is largely comprised of methane -- for its launches.
As SpaceX intends to ramp up its launch requency, it wants to tap Florida's existing natural gas pipeline network rather than rely on convoys of trucks constantly bringing in LNG.
The move will help feed natural gas directly into its on-site chillers and liquefaction facilities and lock in the volume SpaceX needs to secure regular Starship flights out of Cape Canaveral. As part of this agreement, SpaceX will construct and own the pipeline.
What does this deal mean to Kinder Morgan and Energy Transfer? Kinder Morgan and Energy Transfer don't have to foot the bill; the deal is simply for interconnection and offtake. While the deal to connect to SpaceX's site in Cape Canaveral makes for good headlines, it's a relatively small deal for both companies, which serve large LNG export terminals and electric utilities.
For perspective, Energy Transfer operates 140,000 miles of energy infrastructure across 44 states. Of these, nearly 40,000 miles transport natural gas, and in the second quarter, the company moved nearly 32,000 billion British thermal units per day (BBtu/d) through its network, transporting roughly 30% of all natural gas consumed in the U.S.
$20.11-$0.15 (-0.74%)
TXSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/19/26
Energy Transfer is constructing a 520-mile pipeline to deliver 2.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) at a cost of up to $5.6 billion, and the 400-mile Hugh Brinson Pipeline will transport 2.2 Bcf/d at a cost of $2.7 billion. The company also has an agreement with Oracle for roughly 900,000 million cubic feet per say (Mcf/d) across its multiple data centers, a much bigger opportunity than this SpaceX deal.
Meanwhile, Kinder Morgan owns over 58,000 miles of natural gas pipelines and transported nearly 48,000 BBtu/d in the second quarter. The company transports roughly 40% of U.S. natural gas. Together, the two companies move roughly 70% of the U.S.'s total natural gas, making the SpaceX deal a tiny drop in the bucket.
KMI Kinder Morgan$33.39-$0.81 (-2.37%)
NYSE · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/19/26
Investors should know this before buying pipeline stocks For investors seeking income, Kinder Morgan yields around 3.5%, while Energy Transfer yields nearly 6.8%.
One thing to note: Energy Transfer operates as a master limited partnership (MLP), which receives different tax treatment than most stocks. That could complicate filing come tax season. Kinder Morgan, on the other hand, operates as a C corporation and is taxed as a regular corporation, offering a lower yield but simpler returns.
Demand for U.S. natural gas continues to grow Pipeline stocks like Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan have a massive footprint and have benefited as U.S. natural gas production continues to reach all-time highs. Since 2010, U.S. natural gas supplies have risen 70%. Meanwhile, long-term forecasts project U.S. natural gas production could expand by another 45 Bcf/d (a 42% increase) through 2035.
For investors, the SpaceX deal is one of many, as Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan continue to see strong domestic and international demand growth for natural gas (and other energy products).
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Retirees who have stopped drawing a paycheck tend to judge a portfolio by one number: how much cash it deposits each year without selling a share. Social Security covers part of the gap. Dividends from established companies can cover more, and those payments keep coming whether the market rallies or slips.
A $10,000 stake in each of these five high-yield names would produce the following. Across a $50,000 total investment, the group generates more than $2,700 a year in passive income. That figure uses forward dividend rates and closing prices from October 16. The list runs from the lowest yield to the highest, and each profile includes a check on dividend safety.
Kinder Morgan Stock #5: Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI | KMI Price Prediction) Yield: 3.48% Shares for $10,000: 292.4 Annual Passive Income: ~$347.95 Kinder Morgan runs about 78,000 miles of pipelines under a mostly fee-based model supported by long-term contracts. It is a C-corp, so IRA holders face no UBTI issue. It has the lowest yield in this group, and its dividend is still growing: the quarterly payout of 29.75 cents is up 2% from 2025.
Coverage is wide. The 2026 adjusted EPS budget is $1.36, and management expects to beat it by more than 12%. Leverage stands at 3.6x. The main risk is execution on a $9.6 billion project backlog.
Realty Income Stock #4: Realty Income (NYSE:O) Yield: 5.81% Shares for $10,000: 178.3 Annual Passive Income: ~$580.96 Realty Income owns more than 15,500 properties on long-term net leases. REIT rules require it to distribute at least 90% of taxable income, which keeps the yield high. It declared its 676th consecutive monthly dividend on October 13.
On AFFO, the right metric for a REIT, 2026 guidance of $4.44 to $4.45 per share easily covers the $3.258 forward dividend. Occupancy stands at 98.8%. The main risk is concentration: retail still makes up 78.3% of annualized base rent.
Pfizer Stock #3: Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Yield: 5.82% Shares for $10,000: 338.2 Annual Passive Income: ~$581.67 Pfizer sells Eliquis, Prevnar, Padcev, and the Vyndaqel family. Its yield rose as COVID sales fell, with Paxlovid down 95% in Q2. The dividend comes out of operating cash flow.
Confirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.80 to $3.00 covers the $1.72 annual payout. The chief executive said on the August call that “the dividend will be maintained.” The main risk is patent expirations, and management expects leverage to stay around 2.7 times or slightly higher.
Altria Stock #2: Altria (NYSE:MO) Yield: 5.91% Shares for $10,000: 133.1 Annual Passive Income: ~$591.13 Altria owns Marlboro, Copenhagen, and more! pouches. Shrinking cigarette volumes keep its valuation low, while pricing power funds a large payout. In August, it raised the quarterly dividend to $1.11 from $1.06.
Adjusted EPS guidance of $5.61 to $5.72 covers the $4.44 forward dividend, and debt to EBITDA is 1.9 times. The main risk is that Marlboro lost 1.5 points of retail share as smokers traded down to cheaper brands.
Verizon Communications Stock #1: Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Yield: 6.32% Shares for $10,000: 223.3 Annual Passive Income: ~$631.98 Verizon serves 94.1 million postpaid phone connections. Heavy capital spending and $136.5 billion in unsecured debt keep this ultra-high-yield stock cheap.
Adjusted EPS guidance of $4.99 to $5.04 and free cash flow guidance of up to $22.14 billion cover the $2.83 dividend, which has been raised for 20 straight years. The main risk is the debt load.
Five Positions, One Income Stream Name Yield Annual Dividend Income Kinder Morgan 3.48% $347.95 Realty Income 5.81% $580.96 Pfizer 5.82% $581.67 Altria 5.91% $591.13 Verizon 6.32% $631.98 Total 5.47% $2,733.69 Together, these five holdings produce $2,733.69 of annual passive income on a $50,000 investment, a combined yield of 5.47%. Verizon contributes $631.98, Altria adds $591.13, Pfizer adds $581.67, Realty Income adds $580.96, and Kinder Morgan supplies the final $347.95.
Reinvesting the dividends turns that income into more shares, and each new share adds to the next payment. Altria and Kinder Morgan both raised their payouts in 2026. If the companies keep raising dividends while the reinvested cash keeps buying shares, the income from the same $50,000 can grow without any new money going in (that compounding loop is the whole point of a dividend ladder built to live off the checks without selling shares, as outlined in a free guide here).
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Curated Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI – Free Report) by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,208 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 93,372 shares during the quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. B.A. Schrock Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 83.0% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 233,326 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,035,000 after buying an additional 105,824 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 97.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Columbus Macro LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.8% during the third quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 536,819 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $16,185,000 after buying an additional 9,437 shares during the period. Finally, Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.6% during the third quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 213,983 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,452,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Kinder Morgan News Here are the key news stories impacting Kinder Morgan this week:
Positive Sentiment: Improving natural-gas fundamentals are supporting KMI: stronger LNG feedgas demand, tighter storage conditions and higher gas volumes could benefit the company’s transportation and storage operations. Management previously indicated that 2026 adjusted EBITDA could exceed its budget by more than 5%, while adjusted EPS could be more than 12% above budget. Kinder Morgan gains as investors weigh stronger gas-market signals and project momentum Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for higher natural-gas volumes, rising LNG demand and KMI’s fee-based contracts to support third-quarter results. The company’s project backlog is concentrated largely in natural-gas infrastructure, including projects tied to power-generation and local-distribution demand. Kinder Morgan to Report Q3 Earnings: What’s in Store for the Stock? Positive Sentiment: Recent project progress, including the Western Gateway pipeline investment decision and favorable environmental findings for the Texas Access Project, reinforces expectations for future growth and expansion. Kinder Morgan gains as investors weigh stronger gas-market signals and project momentum Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focusing on operating metrics beyond revenue and earnings per share ahead of the September-quarter report. Results that exceed expectations could support the stock, while weaker volumes or guidance could temper the recent rally. Ahead of Kinder Morgan Q3 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics Negative Sentiment: Put-option activity was unusually elevated, with purchases approximately 46% above typical volume, suggesting some traders are hedging against a post-earnings pullback or increased volatility. Negative Sentiment: Insiders reported multiple open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months. While these transactions do not necessarily reflect company fundamentals, they may weigh on sentiment. Kinder Morgan Stock Up 4.1% NYSE:KMI opened at $34.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.59. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $34.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.
Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.2975 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.28%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In KMI has been the topic of several research reports. Capital One Financial started coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target (up from $33.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.47.
Read Our Latest Analysis on KMI
Insider Activity In other news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total value of $47,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 48,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,980.40. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Kinder Morgan Company Profile (Free Report)
Kinder Morgan, Inc (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and other transportation and storage facilities. Its systems primarily support the movement, processing, and storage of natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other energy commodities.
The company’s natural gas business transports and stores natural gas for utilities, power generators, industrial customers, and other energy companies. Kinder Morgan also operates refined products and crude oil pipelines, liquids terminals, and carbon dioxide infrastructure.
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Key Takeaways Kinder Morgan will report Q3 earnings on Oct. 21, with EPS expected to rise 13.8% to 33 cents.KMI's Q3 revenues are projected to climb 5.7% to $4.38 billion, supported by strong natural gas demand.Kinder Morgan's gathering volumes are expected to reach 4,649 BBtu/d, up from 4,380 BBtu/d a year ago. Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI - Free Report) is set to report third-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 21, after market close.
In the last reported quarter, the company’s adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents, benefiting from broad-based segment growth, led by higher natural gas transportation and gathering volumes.
The company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while meeting the same once, delivering an average surprise of 12.77%. This is depicted in the graph below:
Estimate Trend for KMIThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings per share of 33 cents has witnessed one downward revision and no upward revisions in the past seven days. The estimated figure reflects a 13.8% jump from the prior-year reported figure.
The consensus estimate for revenues of $4.38 billion implies a 5.7% increase from the year-ago recorded figure.
Factors to Consider Ahead of KMI's Q3 ResultsKinder Morgan is a leading midstream energy player in North America, with an extensive natural gas pipeline network comprising around 58,600 miles of transmission and 6,800 miles of gathering pipelines. The company transports nearly 40% of the natural gas produced in the United States. Due to the contractual nature of its business, with minimal exposure to commodity pricing volatility, KMI is likely to have generated stable earnings and cash flows in the third quarter.
The majority of its cash flows are anchored by fee-based contracts or take-or-pay agreements. The pipeline company is expected to have benefited from sustained natural gas demand driven by higher LNG exports, industrial demand and electricity generation needs. For the third quarter, natural gas gathering volumes are expected to average 4,649 British thermal units per day (BBtu/d) from 4,380 BBtu/d in the prior-year quarter, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. These factors are anticipated to have driven demand and pricing dynamics, aiding Kinder Morgan’s quarterly performance.
Earnings WhispersOur proven model indicates an earnings beat for KMI this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Earnings ESP: KMI has an Earnings ESP of +1.52%. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Kinder Morgan currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Other Stocks to ConsiderHere are some stocks that you may want to consider, as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this reporting cycle.
Baker Hughes Company (BKR - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.15% and currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Baker Hughes is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Oct. 27. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BKR’s earnings is pegged at 65 cents per share, indicating a 4.4% decline from the prior-year reported figure.
EOG Resources (EOG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.59% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. EOG is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Nov. 5.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EOG’s earnings is pegged at $4.39 per share, suggesting a 62% improvement from the prior-year reported figure.
BP plc (BP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +7.29% and a Zacks Rank #1. BP is scheduled to release third-quarter 2026 earnings on Oct. 30.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BP’s earnings is pegged at $2.09 per share, suggesting a 145.9% increase from the prior-year reported figure.
The upcoming report from Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $0.33 per share, indicating an increase of 13.8% compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $4.38 billion, representing an increase of 5.7% year over year.
Over the last 30 days, there has been an upward revision of 0.3% in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter, leading to its current level. This signifies the covering analysts' collective reconsideration of their initial forecasts over the course of this timeframe.
Before a company announces its earnings, it is essential to take into account any changes made to earnings estimates. This is a valuable factor in predicting the potential reactions of investors toward the stock. Empirical research has consistently shown a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While it's common for investors to rely on consensus earnings and revenue estimates for assessing how the business may have performed during the quarter, exploring analysts' forecasts for key metrics can yield valuable insights.
Bearing this in mind, let's now explore the average estimates of specific Kinder Morgan metrics that are commonly monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts.
The consensus among analysts is that 'Realized weighted average oil price' will reach 71 dollars per barrel. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 68 dollars per barrel.
It is projected by analysts that the 'Realized weighted average NGL price' will reach 35 dollars per barrel. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of 31 dollars per barrel.
The average prediction of analysts places 'Terminals - Liquids leasable capacity' at N/A. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of N/A.
Analysts predict that the 'NGL sales volumes - net' will reach 9.80 thousands of barrels of oil per day. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 9.03 thousands of barrels of oil per day.
Analysts expect 'Total oil production - net' to come in at 28.20 thousands of barrels of oil per day. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of 25.04 thousands of barrels of oil per day.
According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Terminals - Bulk transload tonnage' should come in at 13 millions of ton. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported 12 millions of ton in the same quarter last year.
The consensus estimate for 'Segment EBDA- Natural gas Pipelines' stands at $1.41 billion. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $1.39 billion in the same quarter last year.
Analysts forecast 'Segment EBDA- Terminals' to reach $284.75 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $274.00 million.
Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Segment EBDA- Products Pipelines' should arrive at $290.54 million. The estimate compares to the year-ago value of $288.00 million.
The collective assessment of analysts points to an estimated 'Segment EBDA- CO2' of $195.07 million. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $135.00 million in the same quarter last year.
View all Key Company Metrics for Kinder Morgan here>>>
Shares of Kinder Morgan have demonstrated returns of +4.8% over the past month compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.4% change. With a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), KMI is expected to mirror the overall market performance in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) closed at $32.82 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.59% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.33% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.08%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company had gained 8.53% outpaced the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 5.67% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.41%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Kinder Morgan in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings report is set to be unveiled on October 21, 2026. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.33, indicating a 13.79% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.38 billion, up 5.73% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.55 per share and revenue of $18.34 billion. These totals would mark changes of +19.23% and +8.26%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Kinder Morgan should also be noted by investors. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.09% downward. Kinder Morgan is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Kinder Morgan currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 21.49. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 18.33.
We can additionally observe that KMI currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.35. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.91 as of yesterday's close.
The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 38, positioning it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KMI today announced it will release Q3 2026 earnings results on Oct. 21, 2026, after market close and will hold a live webcast and conference call.
Kinder Morgan stock has rebounded this month, moving from a low of $29.48 on October 1 to the current $33.43. It has jumped to its highest level since May 20th, with focus now shifting to its upcoming earnings report. It is up by over 30% from its lowest level this year.
Kinder Morgan is a leading energy infrastructure company. It does not produce oil and gas. Instead, it uses its extensive pipeline network to transport energy to its clients. Most of its business is in natural gas, which is seeing strong growth. The US-Iran war has boosted demand for US gas from Asian and European countries, while the ongoing data center boom has driven a surge in domestic gas demand.
Kinder Morgan’s business has done well this year, with its revenue and profits soaring. The most recent results showed that revenue jumped to $4.47 billion in the June quarter from $4.04 billion in the same period last year. As a result, its net income rose to $894 million from the previous $742 million.
For the first half of the year, Kinder Morgan’s revenue and profits rose to $9.3 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively. As a result, the board of directors decided to boost its dividends to its shareholders.
Focus today will be on its earnings report, which will provide more information about the impact of a recent outage to Mexico. Yahoo Finance data shows that analysts expect the upcoming report to show that revenue rose 5.72% to $4.38 billion, with its earnings per share rising to 33 cents.
The options market expects a muted reaction to earnings. This is in line with how it has reacted to its earnings in the past. For example, its stock dropped by less than 1% after releasing its earnings report. It also dropped by less than 2% after its previous earnings report in April.
The company has an implied volatility of 24%, slightly higher than the historical average of 19%. It has a put-to-call ratio of 0.15, suggesting bullish positioning, with most of the calls sitting at $34, slightly higher than the current $33.
Analysts are modestly bullish on KMI stock. Royal Bank of Canada has a target of $36, while Melius Research targets $38. JPMorgan and Argus have a target of $36 and $38, respectively.
KMI stock chart | Source: TradingView
The daily chart shows that Kinder Morgan shares have bounced back in the past few days, moving from a low of $29.48 on October 1 to the current $33.43. It has crossed the important resistance level of $33, its highest level in June, July, and August this year.
The stock has jumped above the 100-day moving average and the ultimate resistance of the Murrey Math Lines tool. Top oscillators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the MACD have continued rising.
Therefore, the stock will likely have a bullish breakout, potentially to the crucial resistance level of $34.47, its highest point in March this year. A surge above that level will point to more gains, potentially to $40.
Key Takeaways KMI restored natural gas deliveries to Mexico after repairing its Tennessee Gas Pipeline infrastructure.KMI's pipeline network supports U.S. gas exports to Mexico for electricity generation and industrial use.KMI serves Mexico's growing gas needs through cross-border infrastructure linking U.S. supply to demand. Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) has resumed natural gas deliveries to Mexico through its Tennessee Gas Pipeline following repairs that resolved operational issues affecting cross-border shipments. The company lifted the force majeure declaration after restoring the affected pipeline infrastructure, marking an important development for its natural gas transportation business. The swift restoration highlights Kinder Morgan's operational responsiveness and the strategic importance of its pipeline network.
KMI’s Pipeline Restoration Strengthens ReliabilityThe disruption began after Tennessee Gas identified problems requiring the isolation of certain pipeline sections, including the Rio Bravo and Cenagas delivery points. Following repairs, KMI restored gas transportation services, limiting the duration of the interruption. The development reinforces the importance of maintaining reliable infrastructure to support uninterrupted energy supplies.
Mexico's Gas Dependence Benefits KMIMexico relies heavily on natural gas imports from the United States to meet its electricity generation and industrial requirements. The country's limited underground gas storage capacity increases its dependence on consistent pipeline deliveries. This reliance highlights the strategic value of Kinder Morgan's transportation infrastructure and supports the long-term importance of its cross-border operations.
Growing Demand Supports KMI’s Pipeline BusinessMexico's expanding electricity and industrial gas requirements underline the need for dependable transportation infrastructure. Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline connects major U.S. producing regions with domestic and international markets, positioning the company to serve established natural gas demand centers. Sustained cross-border energy trade supports KMI's pipeline business.
What Does This Mean for KMI Investors?The restoration of gas flows to Mexico marks a positive development for Kinder Morgan, highlighting its ability to address operational disruptions and resume critical energy transportation services. Efficient pipeline operations help Kinder Morgan maintain strong customer relationships while ensuring steady revenues from its natural gas transportation business.
Despite potential operational disruptions, Kinder Morgan's extensive pipeline network and Mexico's increasing dependence on U.S. natural gas support steady transportation demand, reinforcing the company's business model, long-term cash generation and investment appeal.
KMI’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksKMI currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the energy sector include Shell plc (SHEL - Free Report) , Chevron Corporation (CVX - Free Report) and BP plc (BP - Free Report) . SHEL, CVX and BP currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
Shell has a diversified portfolio spanning oil and gas exploration, production, refining, chemicals and LNG operations. The London-based integrated energy giant is benefiting from strong upstream performance, improved refining margins and contributions from its global LNG business. In the second quarter of 2026, SHEL's adjusted earnings increased to approximately $9.8 billion from $6.9 billion in the preceding quarter. Shell's refineries achieved a record utilization rate of 102%, while its LNG Canada project reached full capacity, strengthening Shell's operational performance.
Chevron, headquartered in Houston, TX, has substantial upstream and downstream operations in major global markets. The leading integrated energy company continues to benefit from higher production volumes, improved operating efficiency and ongoing cost-reduction initiatives. In the second quarter of 2026, CVX reported earnings of $12.1 billion, while worldwide production increased 20% year over year. Chevron achieved record U.S. production of nearly 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and completed its $3 billion annual structural cost-reduction target six months ahead of schedule, supporting its profitability and cash generation prospects.
BP, headquartered in London, operates an integrated energy business covering oil and gas production, refining, marketing and renewable energy activities. The British energy major is focusing on portfolio optimization and asset monetization to improve financial flexibility and streamline its operations. As highlighted in its second-quarter 2026 earnings results, BP completed the divestment of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany and initiated sale processes for its North Sea business and Archaea Energy. These initiatives align with BP's strategy to sharpen its portfolio focus, strengthen its balance sheet and direct capital toward higher-return opportunities.
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) has recently been on Zacks.com's list of the most searched stocks. Therefore, you might want to consider some of the key factors that could influence the stock's performance in the near future.
Over the past month, shares of this oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company have returned +6.9%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +2.1% change. During this period, the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry, which Kinder Morgan falls in, has gained 0.3%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Earnings Estimate RevisionsHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, Kinder Morgan is expected to post earnings of $0.33 per share, indicating a change of +13.8% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -0.3% over the last 30 days.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.55 points to a change of +19.2% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -0.1%.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.54 indicates a change of -0.5% from what Kinder Morgan is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed -0.6%.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, Kinder Morgan is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Revenue Growth ForecastEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.
In the case of Kinder Morgan, the consensus sales estimate of $4.38 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +5.7%. The $18.34 billion and $18.99 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +8.3% and +3.6%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryKinder Morgan reported revenues of $4.48 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +10.8%. EPS of $0.37 for the same period compares with $0.28 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.29 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +4.33%. The EPS surprise was +19.35%.
Over the last four quarters, Kinder Morgan surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
Kinder Morgan is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Kinder Morgan. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI – Get Free Report) and Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.
Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Kinder Morgan and Imperial Petroleum, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Kinder Morgan 0 11 11 0 2.50 Imperial Petroleum 0 1 1 0 2.50 Kinder Morgan currently has a consensus target price of $35.47, indicating a potential upside of 7.86%. Imperial Petroleum has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 61.58%. Given Imperial Petroleum’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Imperial Petroleum is more favorable than Kinder Morgan.
Profitability This table compares Kinder Morgan and Imperial Petroleum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Kinder Morgan 19.31% 10.46% 4.65% Imperial Petroleum 36.76% 16.92% 15.92% Earnings and Valuation This table compares Kinder Morgan and Imperial Petroleum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Kinder Morgan $17.96 billion 4.08 $3.06 billion $1.56 21.08 Imperial Petroleum $161.00 million 1.58 $49.98 million $1.91 2.92 Kinder Morgan has higher revenue and earnings than Imperial Petroleum. Imperial Petroleum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kinder Morgan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk Kinder Morgan has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Imperial Petroleum has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership 62.5% of Kinder Morgan shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.4% of Imperial Petroleum shares are held by institutional investors. 12.7% of Kinder Morgan shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Imperial Petroleum shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary Imperial Petroleum beats Kinder Morgan on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Kinder Morgan (Get Free Report)
Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, renewable fuel and feedstocks, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 82,000 miles of pipelines and 139 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
(Get Free Report)
Imperial Petroleum Inc. provides international seaborne transportation services to oil producers, refineries, and commodities traders. It carries refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel, as well as edible oils and chemicals, crude oils, iron ore, coal and grains, and minor bulks, such as bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. As of April 1, 2024, the company owned and operated a fleet of six medium range refined petroleum product tankers; one Aframax tanker; two suezmax tankers; and two handysize drybulk carriers with a total capacity of 791,000 deadweight tons. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Athens, Greece.
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Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $32.25, demonstrating a +1.35% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.47% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.1%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 1.25%.
The oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company's stock has climbed by 1.31% in the past month, falling short of the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 1.58% and outpacing the S&P 500's gain of 1.15%.
The upcoming earnings release of Kinder Morgan will be of great interest to investors. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $0.33, indicating a 13.79% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $4.38 billion, showing a 5.73% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $1.56 per share and a revenue of $18.34 billion, demonstrating changes of +20% and +8.26%, respectively, from the preceding year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Kinder Morgan. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.57% higher. Currently, Kinder Morgan is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Kinder Morgan is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 20.46. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.04.
Meanwhile, KMI's PEG ratio is currently 2.24. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.84 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 39, positioning it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) . This company, which is in the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry, shows potential for another earnings beat.
This oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company has seen a nice streak of beating earnings estimates, especially when looking at the previous two reports. The average surprise for the last two quarters was 22.84%.
For the most recent quarter, Kinder Morgan was expected to post earnings of $0.31 per share, but it reported $0.37 per share instead, representing a surprise of 19.35%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $0.38 per share, while it actually produced $0.48 per share, a surprise of 26.32%.
Price and EPS Surprise
Thanks in part to this history, there has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Kinder Morgan lately. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the stock is positive, which is a great indicator of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Kinder Morgan has an Earnings ESP of +5.00% at the moment, suggesting that analysts have grown bullish on its near-term earnings potential. When you combine this positive Earnings ESP with the stock's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), it shows that another beat is possibly around the corner.
When the Earnings ESP comes up negative, investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric. But, a negative value is not indicative of a stock's earnings miss.
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.
Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
Quarterly financial reports play a vital role on Wall Street, as they help investors see how a company has performed and what might be coming down the road in the near-term. And out of all of the metrics and results to consider, earnings is one of the most important.
The earnings figure itself is key, of course, but a beat or miss on the bottom line can sometimes be just as, if not more, important. Therefore, investors should consider paying close attention to these earnings surprises, as a big beat can help a stock climb and vice versa.
Hunting for 'earnings whispers' or companies poised to beat their quarterly earnings estimates is a somewhat common practice. But that doesn't make it easy. One way that has been proven to work is by using the Zacks Earnings ESP tool.
The Zacks Earnings ESP, ExplainedThe Zacks Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.
The core of the ESP model is comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the resulting percentage difference between the two equals the Expected Surprise Prediction. The Zacks Rank is also factored into the ESP metric to better help find companies that appear poised to top their next bottom-line consensus estimate, which will hopefully help lift the stock price.
In fact, when we combined a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, stocks produced a positive surprise 70% of the time. Perhaps most importantly, using these parameters has helped produce 28.3% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.
Stocks with a ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market; Strong Buy stocks should outperform more than any other rank.
Should You Consider Kinder Morgan?The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) 22 days from its next quarterly earnings release on October 28, 2026, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.35 a share.
Kinder Morgan's Earnings ESP sits at +5.00%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.35 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.33. KMI is also part of a large group of stocks that boast a positive ESP. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
KMI is one of just a large database of Oils and Energy stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Valero Energy (VLO - Free Report) .
Slated to report earnings on October 22, 2026, Valero Energy holds a #1 (Strong Buy) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and its Most Accurate Estimate is $20.49 a share 16 days from its next quarterly update.
Valero Energy's Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +14.33% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $17.92.
Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, KMI and VLO could potentially post earnings beats in their next reports.
Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're ReportedUse the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they're reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >>
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of KMI either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI – Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 21,182 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KMI. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4,166.7% in the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 768 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 72.9% during the second quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 112.1% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 946 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have issued reports on KMI. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.77.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Kinder Morgan Insider Activity In other news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total transaction of $47,740.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 48,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,980.40. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 12.72% of the company’s stock.
Kinder Morgan Price Performance KMI traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $31.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,219,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,131,604. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.60 and a 1 year high of $34.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.45 and a 200 day moving average of $32.08. The company has a market cap of $70.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.59.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.06. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.2975 per share. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.28%.
About Kinder Morgan (Free Report)
Kinder Morgan, Inc (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities. Its assets primarily transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and carbon dioxide, supporting energy producers, utilities, refiners, industrial companies, and other customers.
The company’s natural gas business includes interstate and intrastate pipelines, gathering and processing systems, and underground storage facilities.
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Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) closed at $31.07 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.77% move from the prior day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.73%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.49%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.19%.
The stock of oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company has fallen by 3.39% in the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.55%.
The upcoming earnings release of Kinder Morgan will be of great interest to investors. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.33, showcasing a 13.79% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.38 billion, up 5.73% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.56 per share and revenue of $18.34 billion, which would represent changes of +20% and +8.26%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Kinder Morgan. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.51% higher. Kinder Morgan currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Kinder Morgan's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 19.63. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 18.52, which means Kinder Morgan is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, KMI's PEG ratio is currently 2.15. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.77 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, putting it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
Rising Treasury yields just knocked five pipeline and utility stocks to levels that have income investors asking whether the selloff created a buying window or a warning sign worth heeding.
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The 10-year Treasury yield rose from 4.77% on Sept. 3 to 5.29% on Sept. 30, and income stocks sold off with it. That pushed down prices on five dividend payers that share one income angle: fee-based pipeline contracts and regulated power rates that fund growing dividends, while capital spending shifts toward LNG exports and data-center electricity demand. All five yields below sit under the Treasury, so the case for each depends on dividend safety and growth. Here is how the payouts hold up.
Williams Companies: Pipeline Payout Raised Every Year Since 2018 Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB | WMB Price Prediction) pays an annualized forward dividend of $2.10 per share. At $69.30, that works out to a forward yield of about 3.03%. Shares slipped 7.22% over the past month, and they are still up 17.8% year to date.
Dividend Safety Check The quarterly dividend went from $0.30 in 2017 to $0.34 in 2018, and Williams has raised it every year since. The latest step was from $0.50 to $0.525 in 2026. For a pipeline company, cash flow says more about coverage than earnings do. Williams guided to 2026 AFFO of $6.085 billion to $6.315 billion, while the dividend costs roughly $2.57 billion a year. At the midpoint, AFFO covers the payout about 2.4 times. Measured against trailing EPS of $2.55, the payout ratio is about 82%. Management expects pro-forma leverage of 3.75x debt to EBITDA.
Bull Case Williams raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $8.3 billion to $8.5 billion after agreeing to buy Momentum Midstream for up to $5.5 billion. The deal adds more than 4,000 miles of Haynesville pipe. Management also raised its long-term EBITDA growth target to 11% plus compound annual growth through 2030. On the August call, an executive said: “We do feel well-positioned to exceed 11%.” Phase one of its Socrates power project began delivering 200 megawatts to a data-center customer, and management calls the years ahead “the decade of pipe and power.” Analysts are bullish: 22 of 24 rate it a buy or strong buy, with a consensus target of $85.46.
Risk to Weigh Growth is expensive. Williams plans $7.3 billion to $7.9 billion of 2026 growth capex. Second-quarter capex of $1.834 billion was higher than operating cash flow of $1.376 billion. The Momentum deal also includes $2 billion of equity, which adds shares. At a forward P/E of 27, it is the most highly valued stock on this list.
Kinder Morgan: Highest Yield on the List, Backed by Free Cash Flow Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) pays $1.19 a year on an annualized basis. At $30.42, the forward yield is about 3.91%, the highest of these five. Shares fell 5.23% over the past month. CNBC’s Jim Cramer supported the stock in his Sept. 30 lightning round.
Dividend Safety Check Second-quarter free cash flow was $978 million, compared with a quarterly dividend spending of roughly $662 million. That covers the payout about 1.48 times. Net debt was 3.6x adjusted EBITDA, the low end of the company’s target range, and Moody’s upgraded Kinder Morgan to Baa1 earlier this year. Against the 2026 budget of $1.36 in adjusted EPS, the payout ratio is 87.5%. Management expects to beat that EPS budget by more than 12%. The dividend has gone up in every year from 2021 through 2026, most recently to $0.2975 per quarter.
Bull Case Natural gas transport volumes rose 7% year over year. Kinder Morgan’s project backlog stands at $9.6 billion, with 92% in natural gas and more than 60% tied to power generation and local distribution demand. Second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.37 beat the $0.3128 estimate, and adjusted EBITDA grew 12% to $2.20 billion.
Risk to Weigh Kinder Morgan has cut its dividend before. The quarterly payout dropped from $0.51 in late 2015 to $0.125 in 2016. Recent raises have been small: the latest increase was 2%. Refined products volumes also fell 5%, and crude and condensate volumes fell 16%.
Duke Energy: Carolinas Utility Near Its 52-Week Low Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) pays an annualized $4.34 per share. At $113.49, the forward yield is about 3.82%. The stock trades close to its 52-week low of $110.99, well under the $136.11 analyst target.
Dividend Safety Check The quarterly dividend rose to $1.085 from $1.065 in August, and Duke’s records show regular quarterly payments going back to 1999. The payout is about 65% of trailing diluted EPS of $6.64, the most comfortable coverage of the three utilities here. Like most regulated utilities, Duke spends more on its grid than it generates in cash, so earnings coverage and access to capital matter more than free cash flow. Duke closed $5.3 billion of strategic transactions in the first quarter, which strengthened its funding position.
Bull Case Duke reaffirmed 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $6.55 to $6.80 and targets 5% to 7% annual adjusted EPS growth through 2030. It has signed 7.6 GW of economic-development projects under electric service agreements, and retail electric customers grew 1.4%. Second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.43 beat the $1.3062 estimate. At a forward P/E of 16, Duke is the cheapest utility on this list.
Risk to Weigh Interest expense and depreciation are rising as the asset base grows. Coal-ash remediation costs remain uncertain, and data-center load could come in below expectations.
Southern Company: Data Centers Are Lifting Commercial Power Sales Southern Company (NYSE:SO) pays an annualized $3.04 per share. At $83.20, the forward yield is about 3.65%. Shares are down 9.34% over the past year and sit close to the 52-week low of $81.69.
Dividend Safety Check Southern raised its quarterly dividend in every year from 2021 through 2026, from $0.64 to the current $0.76. The payout is about 73% of trailing EPS of $4.15, which is normal for a regulated utility. Earnings power is growing: second-quarter GAAP net income rose 33.41% to $1.174 billion.
Bull Case Commercial electricity sales rose 7.3% on data-center demand, and wholesale sales climbed 9.2%. Adjusted EPS of $1.13 beat the $1.00 estimate. With Vogtle fully in service, Georgia Power has a larger rate base to earn on. The forward P/E of 17 is below the trailing figure of 20, which means analysts expect earnings to grow.
Risk to Weigh First-quarter interest expense reached $778 million, up from $714 million, and Southern Power expects about $205 million in remaining pre-tax repowering charges in 2026. Analysts are cautious too: 13 rate the stock a hold and 3 rate it a sell or strong sell.
OGE Energy: Ex-Dividend Date Is Days Away OGE Energy (NYSE:OGE) pays an annualized $1.715 per share. At $45.67, the forward yield is about 3.76%. Its newly raised $0.42875 quarterly dividend goes ex-dividend on Oct. 5 and will be paid on Oct. 30.
Dividend Safety Check OGE’s records show a dividend increase every year since 2015, when the quarterly payout was $0.25. The annualized dividend equals about 71% of 2026 EPS guidance of $2.43. On the July call, CFO Chuck Walworth said: “We have completed all planned financing activities for 2026 and continue to target credit-supportive metrics including maintaining FFO to debt of approximately 17% over the planning horizon.”
Bull Case OGE set a new all-time peak load of more than 6,800 megawatts. It filed a Google special contract in Oklahoma on May 1 and has six or seven large-load negotiations underway. Its proposed large-load tariff requires data centers to pay 100% of their grid connection costs upfront and sign a minimum 15-year commitment, which protects existing ratepayers. OGE expects to add 550 megawatts of capacity in 2026.
Risk to Weigh Dividend growth has nearly stalled. The latest raise was about 0.88%. Weather also affects results: first-quarter net income fell 19.94% after a mild winter. With a market cap of $9.43 billion, OGE is also much smaller and less diversified than Duke or Southern.
Five Payouts Funded by America’s Growing Power Demand The jump in Treasury yields to 5.29% drove these five stocks lower, while the contracts and rate bases that pay their dividends stayed intact. Williams and Kinder Morgan move the natural gas that LNG terminals and new power plants need. Duke, Southern, and OGE sell the electricity that data centers and new factories use. Kinder Morgan’s free cash flow coverage and Duke’s 65% payout ratio stand out as the strongest dividend protection in the group, while Williams offers the fastest growth behind its payout.
The data-center power build is the thread tying these five payouts together, and the chip names are only part of that trade. We featured seven suppliers on the power, cooling, and networking side of the AI expansion in a free report you can download here: 7 Stocks Powering the AI Boom (That Aren’t Chipmakers).
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.
Over the past month, shares of this oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company have returned -3.4%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. During this period, the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry, which Kinder Morgan falls in, has lost 7%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
Kinder Morgan is expected to post earnings of $0.33 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +13.8%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +0.4%.
The consensus earnings estimate of $1.56 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +20%. This estimate has changed +0.5% over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.55 indicates a change of -0.4% from what Kinder Morgan is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Kinder Morgan.
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Revenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
In the case of Kinder Morgan, the consensus sales estimate of $4.38 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +5.7%. The $18.34 billion and $18.99 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +8.3% and +3.6%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryKinder Morgan reported revenues of $4.48 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +10.8%. EPS of $0.37 for the same period compares with $0.28 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.29 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +4.33%. The EPS surprise was +19.35%.
Over the last four quarters, Kinder Morgan surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.
Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.
The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
Kinder Morgan is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Kinder Morgan. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $30.53, demonstrating a +1.26% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.2%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.04%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.04%.
The stock of oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company has fallen by 5.69% in the past month, lagging the Oils-Energy sector's loss of 2.32% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.35%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Kinder Morgan in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.33, signifying a 13.79% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.38 billion, up 5.73% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.56 per share and revenue of $18.34 billion, which would represent changes of +20% and +8.26%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Kinder Morgan. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.51% upward. Right now, Kinder Morgan possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Kinder Morgan is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 19.39. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 18.1 for its industry.
Also, we should mention that KMI has a PEG ratio of 2.12. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. As the market closed yesterday, the Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry was having an average PEG ratio of 1.74.
The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 75, putting it in the top 31% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
Plugging In: How Kinder Morgan Powers Up ProfitsKinder Morgan NYSE: KMI sees an opportunity-rich environment for midstream infrastructure as natural-gas demand from LNG exports, power generation and industrial growth supports a growing pipeline project pipeline, Chief Financial Officer David Michels said during a fireside chat.
Michels said the company’s sanctioned backlog consists of board-approved projects supported by binding commitments from off-takers, generally covering more than 90% of planned capacity. Most of those projects are already under construction, he said, giving the company confidence that they will enter service and contribute EBITDA.
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3 Dividend Stocks with Growth on Tap for the Second HalfProjects outside that formal backlog, which Kinder Morgan has previously characterized as a “shadow backlog,” are less certain because they have not been sanctioned. Still, Michels said customer discussions and negotiations have progressed sufficiently for the company to expect further project approvals.
“We feel pretty confident” that new projects will at least replenish projects entering service in coming quarters, Michels said. The company had indicated in its second-quarter discussion that it expected to sanction more than $1 billion of projects from July through year-end, and Michels said it was confident that target would be met, potentially with additional projects.
Southeast Power Demand Drives SNG Expansion Discussions Pipelines and Automation: 2 Energy Plays Built for Any Oil PriceA major focus is the Southeastern U.S., where utilities are planning for substantial new electricity demand. Michels said large-load connection requests across Southern Company, Dominion, Duke, Florida Power & Light and TVA exceed 200 gigawatts. Projects in more advanced stages or with executed contractual positions account for more than 50 gigawatts, he said.
While not all of that potential generation would be fueled by natural gas, Michels said 50 gigawatts would equate to more than 8 billion cubic feet per day of gas demand if it were entirely gas-fired.
Kinder Morgan and Southern Company recently launched an open season for the Southeast Connector project on the Southern Natural Gas, or SNG, system. The open season was scheduled to close Oct. 7. Michels said the process was “going well” and that Kinder Morgan expected to provide more detail during its next earnings call.
The company is also advancing its South System 4 expansion on SNG, which Michels said remains on budget and on schedule. The project has received its permit, and the company is securing rights of way, though construction has not yet started. Michels said the volume of anticipated utility demand has already prompted consideration of the next stage of expansion.
“We’re going to need connections north of it and potentially south of it,” he said of the broader infrastructure requirements. Kinder Morgan would seek multiple counterparties for the Southeast Connector, with utilities representing its preferred customer base.
Michels added that SNG likely has additional long-term expansion potential. He noted that the system has progressed through multiple expansions and that further growth could be needed in the corridor.
Tennessee Pipeline Open Season Draws Strong Interest Kinder Morgan also reported favorable results from the non-binding open season for its Tennessee Gas Pipeline 219 South project. The project was marketed for just over 500 million cubic feet per day of capacity to move gas from Pennsylvania toward Tennessee.
Michels said the results were “very strong and positive,” although the company still needs to secure firm shipper commitments. The project could support power-generation demand along the route, he said.
The company has discussed a potentially larger Tennessee Gas Pipeline expansion that could move Appalachian gas into the Southeast. Michels declined to identify a specific upper limit for the project, citing customer rate considerations, but said it could potentially be multiple times the 500 million cubic feet-per-day capacity discussed in the open season.
For now, Kinder Morgan is prioritizing the Southeast Connector over a potential Mississippi Crossing expansion, though Michels said the company continues to hold early-stage discussions with possible counterparties for that project.
Funding Capacity and Other Growth Markets Michels said Kinder Morgan can fund roughly $3 billion to $3.5 billion annually in growth capital from cash flow from operations. The company’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 3.6 times, compared with a long-term target range of 3.5 to 4.5 times. Using capacity up to the midpoint of that range could provide another $3 billion to $3.5 billion of funding capacity, he said.
That gives the company potential annual growth-project capacity of $6 billion to $7 billion, according to Michels. He said Kinder Morgan does not expect to need external capital for its planned growth investments unless a significant acquisition coincides with periods of heavy project funding.
In Texas, Kinder Morgan is seeing demand tied to power generation, LNG and supply needs for multiple markets. Michels highlighted the potential Permian Link project on the Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America system, which could serve the Texas Panhandle, parts of New Mexico and potentially Oklahoma. He said customer negotiations are progressing well, though the project is not in the formal backlog.
Michels said the project is positioned as a demand-driven development rather than a supply-push pipeline and benefits from NGPL’s storage assets.
Outperformance Includes One-Time Factors Kinder Morgan’s operating performance this year has benefited from approximately $225 million of non-recurring items, Michels said. Those included Winter Storm Fern and extended cold weather in the Northeast, FERC-related retroactive billing relief, a terminal contract buyout and the widening of the Waha basis spread.
Higher commodity prices also contributed. Michels said the company budgeted for oil at $60 per barrel, while year-to-date prices had averaged above $80 per barrel, creating an estimated $100 million benefit. He cited commodity-price effects related to the Iran war.
While the company does not expect to budget for all of those gains next year, Michels said underlying market conditions should continue to support margins in Kinder Morgan’s Texas intrastate business, higher-rate recontracting on interstate pipelines, greater volumes and additional customer services. He also cited strong CO2 volumes, although he said the durability of that performance into next year was less certain.
About Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI)Kinder Morgan, Inc NYSE: KMI is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities. Its assets primarily transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and carbon dioxide, supporting energy producers, utilities, refiners, industrial companies, and other customers.
The company's natural gas business includes interstate and intrastate pipelines, gathering and processing systems, and underground storage facilities.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) Wolfe Research Utilities, Midstream & Clean Energy Conference 2026-New York September 30, 2026 10:20 AM EDT
Company Participants
David Michels - VP & CFO
Conference Call Participants
Keith Stanley - Wolfe Research, LLC
Presentation
Keith Stanley
Wolfe Research, LLC
Okay. Great. We're continuing our midstream fireside chat here. Very happy to have David Michels, CFO of Kinder Morgan, joining us. David, why don't you give some opening remarks on the company, please?
David Michels
VP & CFO
Sure. First, thanks for having us here, Keith. Appreciate it. Good set of meetings so far. Looking forward to the rest of the day. So as we'll talk about more during this meeting, this is a pretty opportunity-rich environment for midstream companies, natural gas infrastructure development opportunities are as strong as we've seen in decades. So it's creating a lot of interesting opportunities for us for additional growth. Our base business remains very solid. We'll talk about the full utilization of networks across the space, which has led to the ability for us all to capture additional value when we see periods of time of disruptions, weather events.
And then on top of that, these new opportunities to satisfy growth in the LNG space, growth in the power generation space is allowing us to add projects and grow additional -- add additional EBITDA on top of our base business. So it's a great place to be right now, and it's very exciting. So we're pretty enthusiastic about the outlook for the company and looking forward to the conversation to get into that a little bit more.
Question-and-Answer Session
Keith Stanley
Wolfe Research, LLC
Great. So maybe we could start high level. I think about a year ago now, you put out a $10 billion shadow backlog. You talked to $3 billion plus per year of
Kinder Morgan and Williams both crushed revenue estimates and both collect fat pipeline fees from LNG and data centers, yet one of them is quietly funding its dividend with borrowed money. Knowing which one changes everything about owning it.
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Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI | KMI Price Prediction) and Williams (NYSE:WMB) both topped Q2 2026 revenue estimates, with $4.48B and $3.05B. Both are also riding LNG exports and data center power demand. For income investors, the sharper question is which dividend the business actually funds. One paid from free cash flow. The other is outspending its operating cash.
Why Earnings Payout Ratios Mislead on Pipelines Pipelines book heavy depreciation, a noncash charge. Q2 depreciation ran $620 million at Kinder and $592 million at Williams. That charge reduces net income without using cash, so an earnings-based payout ratio makes these dividends look riskier than they are. Distributable cash flow adds noncash charges back and deducts maintenance spending. It shows what shareholders can actually be paid.
One tax note: both are corporations, so holders get an ordinary dividend form instead of a partnership K-1, as the income reader should know.
Kinder Morgan Pays From Cash While Williams Keeps Building Q2 2026 Kinder Morgan Williams Operating cash flow $1.96B $1.376B Capex $982M $1.834B Dividends paid $665M $642M Leverage 3.6x 3.75x forecast Kinder generated $978M of free cash flow, clearing its dividend with room left over. Its leverage sits well below the 4.0x target center. Management said, “right now, we don’t feel like we are capital constrained at all.”
Williams looks different. Capex exceeded operating cash, so borrowing effectively filled the gap. Its 2.36x to 2.45x AFFO coverage guidance looks strong, but AFFO excludes growth spending, which guidance puts at $7.3B to $7.9B this year. The $5.5 billion Momentum deal pushes year-end leverage to “around 3.9 times.” CFO John Porter called it “really just a 26 and 27 issue.” I would like proof of that.
Neither Q2 release specified a fee-based share of cash flow or a debt maturity schedule, so check the 10-Q before relying on either.
Both Dividends Survived a 2016 Reset Kinder cut its quarterly payout from $0.51 to $0.125 in early 2016. Williams fell from $0.64 to $0.20 that year. Since then, Williams has grown faster, reaching $2.10 annualized (+5%). Kinder pays $1.19 (+2%), a slow raise that preserves buffer. Both changes came with warnings on the market in advance, the same kind of signals we catalogued in a free report on the seven signs a big yield is about to be cut.
What to Watch Through 2027 I will be watching Williams’ projects like Delta Access, with 2.25 BCF per day of initial capacity, for whether they start converting capex into cash. At Kinder, you should track whether new projects from its over $10 billion opportunity set push spending past operating cash.
Why I Rate Kinder Morgan’s Payout as Better Covered My verdict: Kinder’s dividend is better covered today. It funds the payout and its growth from internal cash while leverage falls. Williams offers faster dividend growth, but its coverage currently depends on debt and partner capital. If Williams’ operating cash flow covers both capex and dividends by 2028, the answer changes.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
SummaryKinder Morgan offers a compelling blend of income and growth, underpinned by fee-based cash flows and a $10.1 billion project backlog.KMI's natural gas focus, with volume growth and robust data center-driven demand, strengthens its multi-year growth outlook.Q2 2026 results showed 12% adjusted EBITDA and 32% adjusted EPS growth, supporting a well-covered 3.9% dividend yield and a BBB+ balance sheet.At $30.63 and a 19.6x forward P/E, KMI is a buy, with 7–9% expected annual EPS growth plus dividend supporting low to mid-teen total returns.Looking for a portfolio of ideas like this one? Members of iREIT®+HOYA Capital get exclusive access to our subscriber-only portfolios. Learn More »StevanZZ/iStock via Getty Images
Energy midstream investments are one of the best ways to earn steady income and participate in long term returns in an otherwise volatile market. As a dividend investor, I get paid to wait in both up and down
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of KMI either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
I am not an investment advisor. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute as financial advice. Readers are encouraged and expected to perform due diligence and draw their own conclusions prior to making any investment decisions.
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Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI – Get Free Report) and ENI (NYSE:E – Get Free Report) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability This table compares Kinder Morgan and ENI’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Kinder Morgan 19.31% 10.46% 4.65% ENI 6.51% 11.27% 4.32% Institutional and Insider Ownership 62.5% of Kinder Morgan shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of ENI shares are held by institutional investors. 12.7% of Kinder Morgan shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of ENI shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends Kinder Morgan pays an annual dividend of $1.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. ENI pays an annual dividend of $1.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Kinder Morgan pays out 76.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. ENI pays out 44.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kinder Morgan has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Kinder Morgan is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Volatility & Risk Kinder Morgan has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ENI has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Kinder Morgan and ENI, as provided by MarketBeat.
Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Kinder Morgan 0 11 8 0 2.42 ENI 0 5 6 2 2.77 Kinder Morgan presently has a consensus price target of $35.77, indicating a potential upside of 16.31%. ENI has a consensus price target of $60.77, indicating a potential upside of 11.19%. Given Kinder Morgan’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Kinder Morgan is more favorable than ENI.
Valuation and Earnings This table compares Kinder Morgan and ENI”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Kinder Morgan $16.94 billion 4.04 $3.06 billion $1.56 19.71 ENI $94.60 billion 0.98 $2.95 billion $3.91 13.98 Kinder Morgan has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ENI. ENI is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kinder Morgan, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary Kinder Morgan beats ENI on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Kinder Morgan (Get Free Report)
Kinder Morgan, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities. The Products Pipelines segment owns and operates refined petroleum products, and crude oil and condensate pipelines; and associated product terminals and petroleum pipeline transmix facilities. The Terminals segment owns and/or operates liquids and bulk terminals that stores and handles various commodities, including gasoline, diesel fuel, renewable fuel and feedstocks, chemicals, ethanol, metals, and petroleum coke; and owns tankers. The CO2 segment produces, transports, and markets CO2 to recovery and production crude oil from mature oil fields; owns interests in/or operates oil fields and gasoline processing plants; and operates a crude oil pipeline system in West Texas, as well as owns and operates RNG and LNG facilities. It owns and operates approximately 82,000 miles of pipelines and 139 terminals. The company was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Holdco LLC and changed its name to Kinder Morgan, Inc. in February 2011. Kinder Morgan, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About ENI (Get Free Report)
Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities. The Exploration and Production segment engages in research, development and production of oil, condensates and natural gas, forestry conservation (REDD+) and CO2 capture and storage projects. The Global Gas and LNG Portfolio segment refers to the supply and sale of wholesale natural gas by pipeline, international transport and purchase and marketing of LNG, which includes gas trading activities finalized to hedging and stabilizing the trade margins, as well as optimizing the gas asset portfolio. The Refining & Marketing and Chemicals segment engages in supply, processing, distribution, and marketing of fuels and chemicals. The Corporate and Other Activities segment includes the main business support functions in particular holding, central treasury, IT, human resources, real estate services, captive insurance activities, research and development, new technologies, business digitalization, and environmental activities. The company was founded on February 10, 1953 and is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
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Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $30.75, demonstrating a -1.6% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.51%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.93%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.48%.
The oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company's stock has dropped by 0.92% in the past month, falling short of the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 0.53% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.74%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Kinder Morgan in its upcoming release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.33, up 13.79% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.38 billion, indicating a 5.73% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $1.56 per share and a revenue of $18.34 billion, signifying shifts of +20% and +8.26%, respectively, from the last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Kinder Morgan should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.51% higher. Kinder Morgan is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at valuation, Kinder Morgan is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 20.1. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 18.98 of its industry.
One should further note that KMI currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.2. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. KMI's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.81 as of yesterday's close.
The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 89, this industry ranks in the top 37% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Key Takeaways ET shows stronger 2026 and 2027 earnings estimate revisions than KMI over the past 60 days.ET's ROE and forward P/E are 11.55% and 11.84X compared with KMI's 10.46% and 20.14X.KMI has lower debt-to-capital at 49.52% versus ET's 57.52%, offsetting some of its advantages The Zacks Oil & Gas – Production & Pipelines industry remains critical to the nation’s energy security and economic stability. An extensive pipeline network transports crude oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons from major producing regions, including the Permian, Bakken and Marcellus basins, to refineries, export terminals and end markets.
The industry’s long-term outlook remains favorable, supported by steady domestic energy demand, rising liquefied natural gas exports and utilities’ continued shift from coal to natural gas. Energy Transfer (ET - Free Report) and Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) are two major midstream operators, giving investors exposure to essential energy transportation, storage and processing infrastructure while offering attractive income potential.
Growth prospects are also supported by infrastructure upgrades, improving operating technologies and efforts to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions. Amid global energy uncertainty, U.S. pipeline infrastructure has taken on greater strategic importance by helping move energy supplies to domestic and international markets. Moreover, long-term, fee-based contracts provide midstream operators with relatively stable cash flows and limit their direct exposure to commodity price swings.
Energy Transfer operates a highly diversified asset base spanning crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and refined-product pipelines, along with storage and processing facilities. The company’s strong Permian Basin presence, interest in the Dakota Access Pipeline and export infrastructure further expand its reach and support cash flow generation.
Kinder Morgan offers a relatively stable investment profile, supported by its extensive midstream network and strong focus on natural gas transportation. Long-term, fee-based contracts provide steady cash flows, while disciplined capital allocation, a solid dividend and investments in renewable natural gas support resilience and long-term growth. These strengths make KMI an appealing option for income-focused investors seeking relatively lower exposure to commodity price volatility.
Meanwhile, continued growth in U.S. hydrocarbon production is sustaining demand for midstream transportation, storage and processing infrastructure. Against this backdrop, comparing the fundamentals of Energy Transfer and Kinder Morgan can help assess which stock currently offers the stronger investment case.
KMI & ET’s Earnings Growth ProjectionsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for KMI’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share have moved up 4% and 1.97%, respectively, in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The same for ET’s 2026 and 2027 earnings per share have gone up 19.31% and 11.84%, respectively, in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Return on EquityReturn on Equity (“ROE”) is an essential financial indicator that evaluates a company’s efficiency in generating profits from the equity invested by its shareholders. It demonstrates how well management is utilizing the capital provided to increase earnings and deliver value.
KMI’s current ROE is 10.46% compared with ET’s 11.55%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ValuationEnergy Transfer currently appears to be trading at a discount compared with Kinder Morgan on a forward 12-month Price/Earnings basis.
ET is currently trading at 11.84X, while KMI is trading at 20.14X.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Debt to CapitalThe Zacks Oil-Energy sector is a capital-intensive one and huge investments are required at regular intervals to upgrade, maintain and expand operations. The usage of new evolving technology also requires investments. Therefore, the companies operating in the sector borrow from the market and add it to their internal cash generation to fund the long-term investments.
ET’s debt-to-capital currently stands at 57.52% compared with KMI’s 49.52%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Summing UpEnergy Transfer and Kinder Morgan leverage their extensive pipeline networks and supporting infrastructure to efficiently transport hydrocarbons from key producing regions to end markets.
Although KMI uses relatively less debt than ET to fund its operations, the latter’s stronger earnings estimate revisions, cheaper valuation and superior ROE make it a more attractive option in the midstream space.
Both stocks currently have a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), but based on the above discussion, ET has a clean edge on KMI.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.
Over the past month, shares of this oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company have returned +2.8%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.3% change. During this period, the Zacks Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry, which Kinder Morgan falls in, has lost 3%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.
We essentially look at how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to reflect the impact of the latest business trends. And if earnings estimates go up for a company, the fair value for its stock goes up. A higher fair value than the current market price drives investors' interest in buying the stock, leading to its price moving higher. This is why empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, Kinder Morgan is expected to post earnings of $0.33 per share, indicating a change of +13.8% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +1.6% over the last 30 days.
The consensus earnings estimate of $1.55 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +19.2%. This estimate has changed +0.5% over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.55 indicates a change of -0.1% from what Kinder Morgan is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has remained unchanged.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, Kinder Morgan is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.
In the case of Kinder Morgan, the consensus sales estimate of $4.49 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +8.3%. The $18.49 billion and $19.28 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +9.2% and +4.2%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryKinder Morgan reported revenues of $4.48 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +10.8%. EPS of $0.37 for the same period compares with $0.28 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.29 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +4.33%. The EPS surprise was +19.35%.
Over the last four quarters, Kinder Morgan surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
Kinder Morgan is graded D on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about Kinder Morgan. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI – Get Free Report) VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total value of $47,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,980.40. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Kinder Morgan Stock Performance Kinder Morgan stock opened at $31.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.27. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.60 and a 52-week high of $34.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.36.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.2975 per share. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.28%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at $856,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Kinder Morgan by 4.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 330,455 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,565,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Kinder Morgan by 17.8% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 635,254 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,309,000 after purchasing an additional 96,102 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 277,516 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,872,000 after purchasing an additional 25,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,047,059 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $97,414,000 after purchasing an additional 61,443 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KMI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Kinder Morgan from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 target price on Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.45.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on KMI
About Kinder Morgan (Get Free Report)
Kinder Morgan, Inc (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities across North America. Its assets transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, renewable fuels, and carbon dioxide.
The company’s natural gas business supports gathering, processing, transportation, and storage, while its products pipeline network serves refineries, airports, utilities, and other industrial customers. Kinder Morgan also operates bulk and liquids terminals that handle energy products and other commodities, along with carbon dioxide infrastructure used in enhanced oil recovery and related applications.
Founded in 1997, Kinder Morgan has expanded through acquisitions and the development of energy infrastructure in the United States and Canada.
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Electricity demand is likely to remain strong, supported by rapidly expanding data centers and growing air conditioning needs. In the United States, the world’s largest economy, natural gas remains in the spotlight as a key source of power generation.
In this context, let’s take a closer look at two large-cap midstream energy players — Williams (WMB - Free Report) and Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) — to see whether they offer compelling value.
Natural Gas Continues to Lead U.S. Power Generation
Natural gas is a relatively cleaner source of fuel, given its lower emissions of pollutants. Among all the energy sources, natural gas was responsible for 40% of electricity generation in the United States in 2025, per data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”). EIA’s latest short-term energy outlook projects natural gas to account for 40% of U.S. electricity generation in both 2026 and 2027.
By comparison, for this year, the contributions of coal, nuclear and conventional hydropower are likely to be much lower at 16%, 18%, and 6%, respectively, per EIA’s predictions. Thus, for electricity generation, the United States is still largely dependent on natural gas. This makes energy companies involved in natural gas transportation, compression and production worth watching.
2 Pipeline Stocks to Gain: KMI, WMB
Being a leading midstream energy company, Kinder Morgan is well-positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for natural gas both in the United States and worldwide. KMI’s assets comprise the largest transportation network of natural gas in the United States and are responsible for transporting roughly 40% of all the gas produced in the domestic market.
KMI, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), expects U.S. natural gas demand to grow significantly, supported by rising LNG exports and power demand, including electricity requirements for data centers. Citing Wood Mackenzie, management noted that the demand for natural gas in the United States is likely to surpass 160 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/D) by 2035, about 46 Bcf/D higher than in 2025. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Williams is a leading midstream energy player and is well-positioned to capitalize on natural gas demand. This is because, with its pipeline network spanning more than 32,000 miles, WMB is responsible for the transportation of significant natural gas volumes produced in the United States. Thus, the company, currently carrying a Zacks Rank of 3, generates stable cash flows for shareholders.
Kinder Morgan (KMI - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $31.31, moving +1.89% from the previous trading session. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.14%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.61%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.69%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the oil and natural gas pipeline and storage company had lost 4.21% lagged the Oils-Energy sector's gain of 1.41% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.85%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Kinder Morgan in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $0.33, showcasing a 13.79% upward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $4.49 billion, showing a 8.33% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
KMI's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.55 per share and revenue of $18.49 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +19.23% and +9.19%, respectively.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Kinder Morgan. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.49% higher within the past month. Kinder Morgan currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Kinder Morgan has a Forward P/E ratio of 19.81 right now. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 19.41.
We can additionally observe that KMI currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.17. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.81 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Oil and Gas - Production and Pipelines industry is part of the Oils-Energy sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 103, placing it within the top 42% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – September 17, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Constellium (CSTM - Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and AGCO (AGCO - Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI - Free Report) , MPLX LP (MPLX - Free Report) and The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB - Free Report) .
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
Bull of the Day:Constellium has emerged as an intriguing way to gain exposure to stronger aluminum markets, improving aerospace demand, and favorable pricing trends.
The aluminum products manufacturer is coming off record profitability, while its earnings outlook has strengthened enough to earn CSTM a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), suggesting more upside after a nearly 40% year-to-date rally.
Record EBITDA Highlights Improving FundamentalsConstellium most recently delivered an exceptional second quarter, with Q2 revenue rising 31% year over year to $2.75 billion and adjusted EBITDA reaching $439 million, up from $146 million a year ago.
Higher aluminum prices provided a meaningful boost, including a $129 million positive non-cash metal-price-lag benefit. Importantly, however, the underlying business was strong as well.
Excluding metal-price lag—the timing difference between when metal prices are reflected in revenue and cost of sales—Constellium’s consolidated segment adjusted EBITDA still reached a company-record $310 million, up from $165 million in the prior-year quarter.
Aerospace and Transportation EBITDA jumped 61%, while Packaging and Automotive Rolled Products EBITDA more than doubled.
Constellium has benefited from improving aerospace demand, favorable pricing and product mix, North American automotive-sheet supply shortages, and advantageous scrap and recycling economics.
Higher Aluminum Prices Provide Another TailwindConstellium's Q2 revenue growth was partly driven by higher metal prices, while rising primary aluminum prices created the favorable metal-price-lag impact.
Still, investors shouldn't view CSTM simply as a bet on rising aluminum prices. Metal-price lag is non-cash and can reverse as commodity prices fluctuate. More durable drivers include aerospace growth, improved operating performance, and recycling economics.
That said, Constellium has received a further boost as aluminum prices have remained historically elevated, trading well over $3,000 per metric ton. This comes amid tight supply conditions, with the ongoing US-Iran conflict disrupting aluminum supply in the Middle East.
Constellium is Positioned to Weather Higher RatesPersistent inflation could keep metal prices elevated and potentially force the Federal Reserve toward tighter monetary policy.
Constellium appears reasonably positioned for such an environment. The company ended Q2 with leverage of just 1.8X and generated $90 million of free cash flow during the quarter. It also redeemed $100 million of its 5.625% senior notes in July, further reducing debt obligations.
Higher interest rates could eventually weigh on cyclical automotive and industrial demand, so rate hikes themselves aren't necessarily bullish for CSTM. Still, its improving profitability, cash generation, and manageable leverage give the company greater flexibility if borrowing costs remain elevated.
Stronger Outlook & Cheap Valuation Supports the Bull CaseFollowing its strong Q2 results, Constellium raised its 2026 guidance and now expects adjusted EBITDA of $980 million to $1.02 billion, excluding metal-price lag, along with free cash flow above $300 million.
That outlook suggests the earnings improvement extends well beyond the temporary benefit from rising aluminum prices. Based on Zacks estimates, Constellium’s annual sales are now expected to spike 25% this year to $10.6 billion, with adjusted earnings expected to soar over 92% to $3.70 per share versus EPS of $1.92 in FY25.
While FY27 EPS is projected to normalize and contract to $2.89, estimates have now risen nearly 5% in the last 60 days, with it noteworthy that FY26 EPS estimates are up over 8% in the last two months.
More intriguingly, despite its sharp YTD rally, CSTM still trades at under 7X forward earnings at roughly $26 a share.
This sits slightly below its Zacks Metal Products-Distribution Industry average and represents a compelling discount to the broader Zacks Industrial Products sector and S&P 500, which both trade at forward P/E multiples above 20X.
Bottom LineConstellium is benefiting from a favorable combination of stronger aerospace demand, improved pricing and product mix, advantageous recycling economics, and elevated aluminum prices.
With record underlying EBITDA, improving free cash flow, declining leverage, and a strengthening earnings outlook, CSTM's fundamentals appear to be moving in the right direction.
In addition to its strong buy rating suggesting more upside based on the trend of rising EPS revisions, CSTM has an overall “A” VGM Zacks Style Scores grade for the combination of Value, Growth, and Momentum.
Bear of the Day:Agricultural equipment makerAGCO is facing a deteriorating earnings outlook as weaker farm-equipment demand, softer pricing assumptions, and management’s own guidance cuts weigh on estimates.
That combination has driven a notable decline in consensus EPS estimates and pushed AGCO to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Declining EPS estimates are also taking some shine off AGCO’s modest valuation of roughly 22X forward earnings, and with shares trading above $100, investors may want to remain cautious for now.
Why Farm Equipment Demand Has WeakenedFarm equipment demand has softened as lower crop prices and elevated input costs pressure farmer income and make producers more cautious about large capital purchases.
Higher borrowing costs have also made financing tractors, combines, and other equipment more expensive, while many farmers are extending replacement cycles after several years of strong equipment spending.
These pressures have been especially noticeable in North America, Brazil, and parts of Europe, contributing to lower industry volumes and a more challenging pricing environment for AGCO.
Notably, AGCO’s Zacks Manufacturing-Farm Equipment Industry is currently in the bottom 27% of more than 240 Zacks industries, with the space including other noteworthy companies such as CNH Industrial and Deere & Company.
EPS Estimates Keep FallingThe trend in earnings estimates has been decidedly negative. Over the last 60 days, AGCO’s full-year fiscal 2026 EPS consensus has fallen from $6.15 to $5.58, a decline of roughly 9%, while FY27 EPS estimates have dropped from $8.01 to $7.47, or nearly 7%.
Near-term revisions have been even more pronounced, with the current-quarter EPS estimate falling about 40% over the same period from $1.46 to $0.88.
The pressure follows weaker-than-expected industry conditions across several important markets, resulting in AGCO most recently missing its Q2 top-and bottom-line expectations.
Management has cited cautious equipment spending, elevated input costs, tighter credit conditions, and softer demand in areas including Brazil, Western Europe, and North American small agriculture.
Guidance Cuts Reinforce the DowntrendAforementioned, AGCO lowered its own 2026 outlook following its latest results. Full-year sales guidance was reduced to $10.1-$10.2 billion from $10.5-$10.7 billion, while adjusted EPS guidance moved down to $5.50-$5.75 from roughly $6.00 previously.
Management also trimmed its pricing assumption to 2%-2.5% from 2%-3% and lowered its expected currency benefit to 2% from 3%, further pressuring the earnings outlook.
Bottom LineAGCO continues to face a difficult agricultural-equipment backdrop, and the falling EPS estimates suggest analysts are becoming increasingly cautious about the pace of recovery.
With weaker demand, reduced pricing expectations, and lower management guidance driving estimate cuts, AGCO is a stock investors may want to approach cautiously until the earnings revision trend improves.
Additional content:Iran War Uncertainty Puts These 3 Midstream Stocks in FocusThe overall stock market is now experiencing uncertainty stemming from the Iran war, which pushed oil prices above the $100 per barrel mark again and created lasting inflationary pressure. It is now likely that investors, most of whom are risk-averse, are looking for stocks that can sail through the uncertainty.
The uncertainty and volatility have been reflected in oil-price movements as conflicts in the Middle East continue to affect energy markets. However, not all stocks are affected by the war-induced challenges. Three midstream players, Kinder Morgan, Inc., MPLX LP and The Williams Companies, Inc., are well-poised to gain. Let's delve deeper.
Resilient Midstream BusinessStocks in the midstream space have lower exposure to volatility in commodity prices than oil and gas producers. This is because midstream players generate stable fee-based revenues since the transportation and storage assets are being booked by shippers for the long term. Hence, their business model is relatively low-risk, which indicates considerably less exposure to oil and gas prices and volume risks.
3 Pipeline Stocks to Gain: KMI, MPLX & WMBKinder Morgan: With its operating interests in oil and gas pipeline networks spread across 78,000 miles, KMI is a leading energy infrastructure company in North America. It derives most of its earnings from take-or-pay contracts, generating stable fee-based revenues.
The midstream energy major, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), is likely to grow on the back of its business model, which is relatively resilient to volume and commodity price risks. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
MPLX: MPLX’s midstream business comprises transporting crude oil and refined products. The partnership generates stable cash flows from its long-term contracts with the shippers. Its crude oil and natural gas gathering systems also generate stable fee-based revenues. Currently, the firm carries a Zacks Rank of 3.
The Williams Companies: The company is well-poised to capitalize on the mounting demand for clean energy since it is engaged in transporting, storing, gathering and processing natural gas and natural gas liquids.
With its pipeline networks spread across more than 30,000 miles, The Williams Companies, with a Zacks Rank of 3, connects premium basins in the United States to key markets. WMB’s assets can meet a considerable proportion of the nation’s natural gas consumption, which is utilized for heating purposes and clean-energy generation.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of KMI, EPD, ENB, WMB either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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Plugging In: How Kinder Morgan Powers Up ProfitsKinder Morgan NYSE: KMI expects its natural gas business to remain its primary growth engine, supported by rising demand tied to liquefied natural gas exports and power generation, Chief Executive Officer Kim Dang said at a Barclays conference.
Dang said natural gas represents about two-thirds of Kinder Morgan’s business and is the segment where the company expects the most growth. The company expects to sanction at least $1.4 billion of new natural gas projects by year-end, which would help restore its project backlog to more than $10 billion.
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3 Dividend Stocks with Growth on Tap for the Second HalfKinder Morgan’s backlog stood at approximately $10.1 billion at the end of the first quarter and declined to about $9.6 billion in the second quarter as projects entered service. The company expects to place another $1 billion of projects into service during the second half of the year.
Dang emphasized that Kinder Morgan’s backlog consists of board-approved projects that are moving forward, rather than preliminary opportunities. About 90% of the backlog is supported by take-or-pay contracts, she said. The company also has an approximately $10 billion opportunity set outside the sanctioned backlog, though Dang said Kinder Morgan does not expect to secure every project under consideration.
Natural gas demand outlook supports project pipeline Pipelines and Automation: 2 Energy Plays Built for Any Oil PriceDang cited Wood Mackenzie projections showing U.S. natural gas demand increasing from nearly 115 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 160 Bcf per day by 2035. She said the forecast growth is primarily tied to LNG exports, estimated at about 23 Bcf per day, and power demand, estimated at about 17 Bcf per day.
Kinder Morgan operates 80,000 miles of pipeline and serves 40% of U.S. natural gas demand, according to Dang. The company moves 40% of volumes heading to LNG export facilities and 50% of U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico, she said.
Using a 5.6x multiple across its $9.6 billion backlog, Dang said the projects represent roughly $1.7 billion of incremental EBITDA. The average in-service date for the backlog is in the first half of 2028, meaning projects are expected to contribute some growth in 2027 but more substantially in 2028 and 2029. Newly sanctioned projects are expected to extend that growth into late 2029 and 2030.
Expansion opportunities from Appalachia to the Southeast Among Kinder Morgan’s potential projects is an expansion of Tennessee Gas Pipeline, or TGP, that would move more than 500 million cubic feet per day of gas from the Marcellus and Utica region in northwestern Pennsylvania to an area near Nashville, Tennessee.
The company recently completed a nonbinding open season for the project and received what Dang described as “tremendous interest.” Kinder Morgan is now following up with prospective customers to determine delivery locations and the timing of demand before seeking binding commitments.
Dang said the Marcellus and Utica need additional pipeline capacity to support projected production growth. While some smaller northern expansions may be possible, she said larger-scale growth will likely require new routes southward toward power markets in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and potentially Ohio, as well as LNG markets over the longer term.
A TGP expansion could potentially support further development across Kinder Morgan’s Southeast pipeline system. Dang said gas could move farther south through TGP, connect with the Mississippi Crossing pipeline that Kinder Morgan expects to begin building in the fall, continue through Mississippi Crossing, and ultimately reach South System 5 and LNG export markets.
She also pointed to potential power demand in Georgia, citing a Georgia Power economic development report showing 75 gigawatts of potential new power generation through the middle of 2035. Dang estimated that figure could equate to roughly 15 Bcf per day of gas demand, while noting that not all of the potential generation would use natural gas or necessarily be built.
Texas, Permian and refined-products initiatives In Texas, Kinder Morgan is building the Trident pipeline system, which will move gas from the Katy area near Houston to Port Arthur and connect with pipelines into Louisiana. Dang said the first phase is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027, while the second phase is planned for late 2028. The system has a small amount of remaining capacity, and further expansion could involve compression additions or additional pipeline construction.
Dang said existing announced capacity appears sufficient to move Permian gas to the Gulf Coast “for the foreseeable future.” However, Kinder Morgan is seeing opportunities to serve demand near the basin, including power plants and data centers. Its nonbinding open season for the proposed Permian Link project on Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, which would move Permian supply to the Texas Panhandle, generated substantial interest, she said.
On the refined-products side, Dang discussed the Western Gateway joint venture with HF Sinclair and Phillips 66. Kinder Morgan holds a 35% stake in the venture, which is building a pipeline from the Borger refinery in the Texas Panhandle to Phoenix. The project is intended to transport Mid-Continent supply to Arizona and California as refinery shutdowns increase California’s reliance on waterborne imports.
Kinder Morgan is contributing assets valued at about $1.5 billion and $250 million of cash equity to the venture. Dang said the new pipeline is expected to have capacity of about 230,000 barrels per day, with potential to expand beyond 320,000 barrels per day.
Capital allocation and hedging Dang said Kinder Morgan can fund more than $3 billion of annual expansion capital expenditures through cash flow and retains additional balance-sheet flexibility. Its debt-to-EBITDA ratio was about 3.6x, near the low end of its 3.5x to 4.5x target range, she said.
The company also remains active in bolt-on acquisitions that fit existing systems. Dang cited the Monument acquisition as an example of an asset that complements Kinder Morgan’s Texas intrastate network.
In its CO2 segment, which represents about 7% of the company overall, Kinder Morgan’s oil and gas production business accounts for about 4% of the total company. Dang said the company was about 90% hedged for 2026 and approximately 75% hedged for 2027 at prices in the mid-$60 per barrel range. She said oil and gas volumes in the segment have exceeded budget so far this year.
About Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI)Kinder Morgan, Inc NYSE: KMI is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities across North America. Its assets transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, renewable fuels, and carbon dioxide.
The company's natural gas business supports gathering, processing, transportation, and storage, while its products pipeline network serves refineries, airports, utilities, and other industrial customers. Kinder Morgan also operates bulk and liquids terminals that handle energy products and other commodities, along with carbon dioxide infrastructure used in enhanced oil recovery and related applications.
Founded in 1997, Kinder Morgan has expanded through acquisitions and the development of energy infrastructure in the United States and Canada.
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