Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) with a price target of $19. Comments follow the release of Q4 results. Analyst Kristina Kazarian noted stronger than expected DCF and said fundamentals are solid.

"KMI released solid 4Q15 results after the close yesterday. Adj EBITDA was $1.98b vs. consensus of $1.90b and DCF of $1.23 beat our estimate of $1.10b. Importantly, leverage ticked down to 5.6x, in-line with mgmt’s focus on protecting the IG rating. We think this update should help placate investor concerns, allowing the focus to turn back to the fundamentals," said Kazarian.

The analyst continued, "We think mgmt did a good job of illustrating the relative resilience of the asset base despite the continuing weakness in energy prices. Adj EBITDA grew YoY in three of the five segments: Natural Gas Pipelines (+1%), Terminals (+8%), and Product Pipelines (+27%). Canada declined due to currency weakness, but still saw volume growth. CO2 was weak due to its high commodity exposure, but only fell -22% despite crude’s collapse == > leading to overall DCF/share up +7% YoY. We think these results show the strength of the diversified footprint."

Kazarian characterized the company's decision to trim capex backlog as prudent.

"Acknowledging a narrower opportunity set, mgmt reduced its CY16 capex guidance by $900m (to $3.3b) and cut $3.1b from the wider project backlog. The large cut to the backlog reflects mgmt’s focus on "high-grading" to ensure mid-teen after-tax organic returns. KMI is also expecting to bring in JV partners on some of its projects to reduce immediate spending. We see these reductions as prudent as the market continues to value balance sheet strength and expect further updates at next week's analyst day."

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Shares of Kinder Morgan closed at $12.01 yesterday.