Why Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI), NetApp Inc. (NTAP) and Williams Companies Inc (WMB) Are 3 of Today’s Best Stocks

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After tumbling on Wednesday, stocks posted modest gains Thursday as traders seemed to reconcile that the message from the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes is an interest rate hike could be coming in December at the earliest, and even that is far from guaranteed.

Why Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI), NetApp Inc. (NTAP) and Williams Companies Inc (WMB) Are 3 of Today's Best StocksThat was enough to send the S&P 500 higher by 0.22% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.13%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.22%.

Broader indexes made modest gains, but more exciting advances arrived courtesy of Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) and Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB).

Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI)

Shares of energy giant Kinder Morgan Inc climbed 4.4% on above-average volume following some favorable analyst chatter. Morgan Stanley upgraded KMI to “overweight” from “equal-weight” while boosting its price target on the stock to $24 from $23.

Morgan Stanley believes 2018 will bring improved credit ratings and better cash flow for Kinder Morgan.

Last month, Wells Fargo upgraded KMI to “overweight” while raising its price target on the stock to $26 from $24. Either the Morgan Stanley or Wells Fargo price targets represent decent capital appreciation potential on Kinder Morgan, which closed below $23 today.

NetApp Inc. (NTAP)

Shares of data storage provider NetApp Inc. surged about 14.7% on volume that was more than six times the daily average after the company delivered better-than-expected second-quarter results.

For the second quarter, NTAP earned 46 cents a share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Analysts expected NTAP to earn 36 cents a share on revenue of $1.26 billion. The company forecast revenue of $1.27 billion to $1.42 billion for the current quarter.

Thursday represented the best intraday showing for shares of NetApp in nearly eight years. NTAP reported earnings after the close of U.S. markets Wednesday.

Williams Companies Inc (WMB)

Shares of pipeline operator Williams Companies Inc. soared nearly 8% on heavy volume following reports rival Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) made takeover overtures toward Oklahoma-based WMB earlier this summer. Shares of Enterprise Products declined on the news.

Reports say EPD made a move on WMB after Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) terminated an agreement to combine with Williams.

Enterprise Products currently is not pursuing Williams, Reuters reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

As of this writing, Todd Shriber owned shares of KMI.

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Todd Shriber has been an InvestorPlace contributor since 2014.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2016/08/kinder-morgan-inc-kmi-netapp-inc-ntap-williams-companies-inc-wmb-3-todays-best-stocks/.

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