Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.58 and last traded at $27.48, with a volume of 1678453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised shares of Kinder Morgan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.09.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $59.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.32.

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

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 100.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C Park Shaper sold 690,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $17,081,014.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,809,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,543,985.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,241 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $597,235.55. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Park Shaper sold 690,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $17,081,014.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,809,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,543,985.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 1st quarter valued at $100,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 27,027 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 192,079 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,523,000 after buying an additional 24,396 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 2,281,455 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $39,948,000 after acquiring an additional 74,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,362,623 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $43,331,000 after acquiring an additional 420,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.