Kinder Morgan Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:KMI)

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 13,780 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 46% compared to the average volume of 9,416 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.47.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In related news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total transaction of $47,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,980.40. This represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 175,834,246 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,621,421,000 after buying an additional 1,875,143 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 130,863,419 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,183,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,361,578 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,018,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,079,477,000 after acquiring an additional 836,571 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,237,384 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $577,998,000 after acquiring an additional 448,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 5.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,130,700 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $507,332,000 after acquiring an additional 831,125 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.17. 16,946,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,555,579. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $76.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59. Kinder Morgan has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $34.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.03.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 19.31%. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.2975 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.28%.

Key Stories Impacting Kinder Morgan

Here are the key news stories impacting Kinder Morgan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Improving natural-gas fundamentals are supporting KMI: stronger LNG feedgas demand, tighter storage conditions and higher gas volumes could benefit the company’s transportation and storage operations. Management previously indicated that 2026 adjusted EBITDA could exceed its budget by more than 5%, while adjusted EPS could be more than 12% above budget. Kinder Morgan gains as investors weigh stronger gas-market signals and project momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for higher natural-gas volumes, rising LNG demand and KMI’s fee-based contracts to support third-quarter results. The company’s project backlog is concentrated largely in natural-gas infrastructure, including projects tied to power-generation and local-distribution demand. Kinder Morgan to Report Q3 Earnings: What’s in Store for the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent project progress, including the Western Gateway pipeline investment decision and favorable environmental findings for the Texas Access Project, reinforces expectations for future growth and expansion. Kinder Morgan gains as investors weigh stronger gas-market signals and project momentum
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focusing on operating metrics beyond revenue and earnings per share ahead of the September-quarter report. Results that exceed expectations could support the stock, while weaker volumes or guidance could temper the recent rally. Ahead of Kinder Morgan Q3 Earnings: Get Ready With Wall Street Estimates for Key Metrics
• Negative Sentiment: Put-option activity was unusually elevated, with purchases approximately 46% above typical volume, suggesting some traders are hedging against a post-earnings pullback or increased volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders reported multiple open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months. While these transactions do not necessarily reflect company fundamentals, they may weigh on sentiment.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities. Its assets primarily transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and carbon dioxide, supporting energy producers, utilities, refiners, industrial companies, and other customers.

The company’s natural gas business includes interstate and intrastate pipelines, gathering and processing systems, and underground storage facilities.