Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Issues Earnings Results, Meets Expectations

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The pipeline company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34, Zacks reports. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of Kinder Morgan stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $26.95. 9,467,115 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,978,435. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.84. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. Kinder Morgan has a 1 year low of $17.61 and a 1 year high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.64.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total transaction of $2,011,035.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,148.65. The trade was a 25.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total transaction of $517,500.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 807,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,219,995. The trade was a 2.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,506,116. Corporate insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kinder Morgan

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Kinder Morgan stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,253 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kinder Morgan

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.