Kinder Morgan(KMI) Zacks Investment Research·2024-02-26 18:00Earnings Estimate Revisions and Stock Performance - The Zacks Rank upgrade for Kinder Morgan (KMI) to 2 (Buy) reflects an upward trend in earnings estimates, which is a powerful factor influencing near-term stock price movements [1][2] - Changes in a company's future earnings potential, as reflected in earnings estimate revisions, are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements [3] - Institutional investors use earnings estimates to calculate the fair value of a company's shares, and their investment actions based on these estimates lead to stock price movements [3] Zacks Rank System and Its Effectiveness - The Zacks Rank system tracks the Zacks Consensus Estimate, which is the consensus measure of EPS estimates from sell-side analysts, for the current and following years [1] - The Zacks Rank system uses four factors related to earnings estimates to classify stocks into five groups, with Zacks Rank 1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988 [4] - The Zacks Rank system maintains an equal proportion of 'buy' and 'sell' ratings for its universe of over 4000 stocks, with only the top 5% receiving a 'Strong Buy' rating and the next 15% receiving a 'Buy' rating [6] Kinder Morgan's Earnings Outlook - Kinder Morgan is expected to earn $1 19 per share for the fiscal year ending December 2024, representing a year-over-year change of 11 2% [5] - Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kinder Morgan has increased by 2 2% [5] - The upgrade of Kinder Morgan to a Zacks Rank 2 positions it in the top 20% of Zacks-covered stocks in terms of estimate revisions, indicating potential for near-term stock price appreciation [7]