12:55 PM EDT, 04/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

Our 12-month target price remains $19, reflecting an 8.9x multiple of enterprise value to projected 2025 EBITDA, modestly below KMI's historical forward average. We think a discount is merited by what we see as a somewhat softer-than-expected year for natural gas demand. We lift our 2024 EPS estimate by $0.03 to $1.19 and 2025's by $0.08 to $1.28. Q1 EPS of $0.34 vs. $0.30, matched the consensus view. KMI does have some positive leverage to grow in liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, in our view, as well as a rising need for data centers to handle AI-related demand, but we think these will play out over time and won't be catalysts in 2024, per se. KMI now sees natural gas gathering volumes at only 7% above 2023 levels (down from prior expectations of +12%), which we think speaks to recent weakness in natural gas prices. We think near-term capital allocation will focus on growth capex, modest debt reduction, and dividend expansion. The dividend was hiked 2% to a revised $1.15 annually, or a yield of 6.3%.