With natural gas all the rage the past couple of years, production has been outpacing transportation capacity for quite some time. Atlas Pipeline Partners' (NYSE: APL) third-quarter results proved that it has become a beneficiary of this trend. Its quarterly natural gas volume increased 36% over last year, to 769 million cubic feet per day. All three of its existing pipelines saw tremendous growth, and with projects in the works to expand capabilities, Atlas has its eye on the prize.

Its strong balance sheet and liquidity position has put Atlas in a great position, and it will be exciting to see if competitors achieved similar results this quarter. Look for companies like Eagle Rock Energy Partners (NASDAQ: EROC), reporting on Nov. 1, and Copano Energy (CPNO) and MarkWest Energy Partners (NYSE: MWE) both releasing their third-quarter results on Nov. 7. Could these kinds of results be enjoyed by all?