NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Kinder Morgan are down 0.69% to $41.72 today as Barclays reinstates its "overweight" rating and $50 price target. "[Kinder Morgan's] dividend visibility is one of the best and most extended in the space. The expected 10% annual dividend growth through 2020 is supported by a large fee-based backlog of projects and limited commodity exposure," Barclays said about the Houston-based energy infrastructure company. While leverage is "on the high side," the amount of dividend coverage the company is keeping exceeds that of most of its peers, positioning it to weather the potential volatility we may see in the commodity markets in the months ahead, analysts noted. Exclusive Report: Jim Cramer's Best Stocks for 2015 With only 6% of the cash flow exposed to commodity prices this year and Barclays' view that there isn't "too much downside" from its $50/bbl WTI estimate, they think their approximately $500 million coverage expectation and leverage metric can only really be at risk if volumes are significantly lower than anticipated or a large number of projects aren't brought into service on time. Kinder Morgan can shoulder higher debt levels with the elimination of the subordination that is inherent in the LP/GP business model and cross-guarantees, analysts noted, adding as a result of this, funding mix is likely different going forward than it historically has been. Multiplied over more than $18 billion and growing backlog, the savings are "substantial." Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates KINDER MORGAN INC as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate KINDER MORGAN INC (KMI) a BUY. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, expanding profit margins and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat weak growth in earnings per share." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 20.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.0%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share. 44.29% is the gross profit margin for KINDER MORGAN INC which we consider to be strong. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 3.18% trails the industry average. Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period, despite the company's weak earnings results. Looking ahead, the stock's rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that the other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels. KINDER MORGAN INC has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share have declined over the last two years. We anticipate that this should continue in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, KINDER MORGAN INC reported lower earnings of $0.95 versus $1.15 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 7.4% in earnings ($0.88 versus $0.95). The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 62.7% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $338.00 million to $126.00 million. You can view the full analysis from the report here: KMI Ratings Report
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