Kinder Morgan actually got itself into some hot water late last year with its credit rating agency after its leverage ratio spiked to 5.8 times. It warned that the company was at risk of losing its investment grade credit rating, which currently still sits at the very bottom of the investment grade range at BBB-/Baa3. It's a rating the company wanted to protect at all costs because it meant easier access to capital and lower rates. Summit Midstream Partners, on the other hand has a much lower B+/B1 rating, which is not only below investment grade but highly speculative according to rating agencies. It's a rating that emphatically suggests the company isn't as safe as a company of the scale and credit quality of Kinder Morgan.