Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.67.

Several research firms have weighed in on KMI. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price objective on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of KMI stock opened at $27.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.41 and a 200-day moving average of $22.26. Kinder Morgan has a one year low of $16.47 and a one year high of $28.81. The company has a market cap of $60.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.95.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.02). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $502,499.88. Following the transaction, the president now owns 897,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,590,294.56. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis acquired 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 12.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kinder Morgan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,904,252 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $335,891,000 after purchasing an additional 257,658 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,550,002 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $233,050,000 after buying an additional 69,307 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 8,198,954 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $162,913,000 after buying an additional 163,294 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $180,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,334,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 20.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,770,943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $154,409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,082 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities.