Is Kinder Morgan Stock a Buy?

A lot has changed for midstream stocks over the past decade, and even more so for Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI). If you are looking at this energy infrastructure stock today thinking that it has a reliable cash-generating business, you need to consider it against other alternatives. If you do take the time to compare and contrast, Kinder Morgan just doesn't stand up very well. And that's a warning that has ramifications for the future.

Cutting a dividend is not something that most companies want to do, but sometimes it is the right choice. This was the case for Kinder Morgan in 2016, when it cut its dividend by roughly 75%. This was done because management had to choose between paying the dividend or putting money to work in capital investment projects that would grow the company. Growing the business was the right choice, even though investors that were counting on the dividend were likely disappointed.