Active traders and investors understand the importance of taking what the market gives you. When it comes to energy stocks, the market provides some simple realities. In summer, it gets hot, and in winter, it gets cold. And for much of the United States, this winter has been particularly cold. 

However, natural gas futures on January 9, 2025, show a 12% year-over-year increase. And as Thomas Hughes noted, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects LNG prices to average $3.00 in 2025. To support that forecast, on January 8, 2025, the EIA reported that natural gas inventories were down by 40 billion cubic feet in the first week of the year.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE:KMI) is a midstream company that owns and operates a vast network that spans 79,000 miles throughout North America. Specific to natural gas, Kinder Morgan is responsible for transporting approximately 40% of the natural gas produced in the United States. That means the company’s earnings growth depends more on the volume it transports rather than the underlying price of natural gas.

Analysts are projecting high single-digit earnings growth in 2025. However, that may not be fully pricing in the voracious demand for natural gas that is emerging, particularly with the number of data centers being built to keep up with the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications.

Like many companies in this sector, Kinder Morgan is known for being a reliable dividend payer. In fact, KMI stock has a high yield of 4.07% as of January 9, 2025. The company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Kim Dang is expecting the dividend to increase by 1.7% this year to $1.17 per share. That would be eight consecutive years of increases for the company.

ONEOK Inc. (NYSE:OKE) is a diversified energy infrastructure company with a network of over 50,000 miles of pipelines. The company specializes in natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL).

Over the past three years, ONEOK has grown its earnings per share by 14% year-over-year (YOY). Over that same period, OKE stock rose by an average of 18%. So, it’s important to note that analysts are forecasting the company’s EPS to grow by 17% in the next year. Is it reasonable to expect that the stock will continue to follow suit?

Recent price action suggests buyers may have an opportunity. At one point in 2024, OKE stock had posted a 76% gain from its 52-week low. That had many analysts issuing downgrades or lowering their price targets for the stock. However, the move lower in the stock has found support around $97. Now, the consensus price target of 12 analysts is around $115. That's an 11% stock price gain to go along with a dividend that yields 3.86%.

NGL Energy Partners LP (NYSE:NGL) operates as a vertically integrated master limited partnership (MLP) with a network of midstream pipelines and storage facilities. In addition to natural gas, the company also manages water pipelines as well as crude oil.

The reason for that comes from analysts who are projecting positive earnings of 11 cents for the full year. After delivering negative 35 cents per share in the first two quarters, that will require significant earnings growth.