Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (NYSE: KMP) reported second quarter earnings after the market close yesterday, delighting some investors and dismaying others. It seems the bigger the partnership gets, the smaller the reward gets for unit holders. Operationally, Kinder Morgan looks perfectly fine, but at what cost to investors?
In the slideshow below, we'll look at two red flags at the partnership that might trouble some unit holders: shrinking distributable cash flow per unit and a very poor distribution coverage ratio, both of which ultimately suggest that there are better income generating opportunities out there for investors right now.