Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Kinder Morgan's Utica Marcellus Texas Project Gets FERC nod

Read MoreHide Full Article

Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI - Free Report) , one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America, has received green signal from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its Utica Marcellus Texas project. The project cost is estimated at $412 million.

The project involves alteration of 964-mile of natural gas pipeline to transfer natural gas liquids from the northeast United States to Texas. The NGL system having a capacity of 430,000 barrel per day is expected to use infrastructure on the company’s Tennessee Gas pipeline system. Construction of 200 miles of new pipeline is a part of the project. The pipeline would be linked to a header system that will be accessible to storage sites near Mont Belvieu.

Kinder Morgan expects the project to be commissioned in fourth-quarter 2018.

About Kinder Morgan

Headquartered in Houston, TX, Kinder Morgan has the largest network of natural gas pipeline in North America that spreads over almost 70,000 miles. Most importantly, the company’s midstream properties are linked to all the prospective plays in the United States that are rich in natural gas. These extensive pipeline networks, for which almost $32 billion has been invested to date, have been providing Kinder Morgan with stable fee-based revenues.

However, we are concerned about Kinder Morgan’s weak balance sheet. As of second-quarter 2017, total debt — both short and long term — is pegged at $37.1 billion. The debt capital is higher than the total equity capital of $36.2 billion which depicts the company’s significant exposure to debt.

Price Movement

The company’s shares have decreased 2.4% as against the industry’s increase of 1.9%, over the past three months.



 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Currently, Kinder Morgan carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked players in the energy sector include First Solar Inc (FSLR - Free Report) , Lonestar Resources US Inc and Alliance Holdings GP LP . All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
 
First Solar designs, based in Tempe, AZ, manufactures and sells solar electric power modules using a proprietary thin-film semiconductor technology. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 524.24% over the last four quarters.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Lonestar Resources is an oil and gas company. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 62.5% in the preceding quarter.

Alliance Holdings, headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, involves in producing and marketing coal. The firm delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 13.64% over the last four quarters.

Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?

Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.

Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investor’s Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.

Download the new report now>>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) - free report >>

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) - free report >>

Published in