Credit Suisse - Kinder Morgan PT Raised After Q1 Earnings Call

On April 16, Credit Suisse published a note "On Track and in The Hunt," updating U.S. oil and gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan, Inc.

after Q1 earnings. Kinder Morgan has a total enterprise value of ~$130 billion and operates ~80,000 miles of oil and gas pipelines, as well as 180 terminals; which transport about one-third of the natural gas in the U.S. on any given day. Kinder reports five segments, including Natural Gas Pipelines, CO2, Products Pipelines, Terminals and Kinder Morgan Canada. Tale Of The Tape - New High After Earnings

Kinder Morgan hit a new 52-week high in mid-day trading, breaking out of its trading range of $31.04 to $43.51 per share.  http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/15/04/5377593/stifel-high-yielding-kinder-morgan-is-now-a-buy Credit Suisse: Kinder Morgan - Maintains Outperform; $52 PT - Up From $50 The new CS base case price target was derived from its 3-Stage DDM (dividend discount model).

The CS base case represents a potential 19.7 percent gain from KMI's prior close of $43.43 per share, not including an attractive ~4.2 percent yield. CS - Kinder Morgan: Q1 Call Highlights  Guidance Solid: Notably, "KMI reiterated its 2015 guidance of $2.00/share in dividends, and 10% annual dividend growth outlook to the end of the decade despite the recent collapse in crude oil prices."  Project Backlog: $18.3 billion is down slightly from analyst day guidance, with Hiland acquisition a boost, helping to balance out lower CO2 project numbers.  Hiland Partners: Balkan Shale midstream assets closed in February, "and integration is going well," contributing ~$400 million plus to KMI's aggregate project backlog.  M&A Takeaways: There is a lot of capital chasing deals in KMI's wheelhouse; any acquisitions would have to also pass muster regarding "social issues."  Oil Production: Numbers up at SACROC, Katz and Goldsmith; with Yates "running roughly in line." CS - Kinder Morgan: Q1 Key Metrics  KMI reported Q1 2015 DCF (distributable cash flow) of $0.58 per share, in line with CS estimate.  KMI Segment Earnings - "before DD&A came in at $1.912B vs [CS] $2.063B with misses in Nat Gas, Terminals, and Products, offset by a beat in CO2."  CS cut 2015E Segment EBDA by $200 million to $7.95 billion; and EPS by $0.15, to $0.78, "mostly adjusting for the miss in Nat Gas, and higher CO2 estimates." CS - KMI Bottom Line Credit Suisse considers KMI to be "a core mid-stream holding based on its size, geographic footprint, diversified asset base, proven track record, investment grade balance sheet, demonstrated access to capital, and strong management."