Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KMI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price target on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $30.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $68.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.28. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $16.47 and a 52 week high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.88%.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $502,499.88. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 897,652 shares in the company, valued at $23,590,294.56. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.89 per share, for a total transaction of $55,778.49. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This represents a 10.30 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,121 shares of company stock worth $1,497,000 over the last ninety days. 12.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,550,002 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $233,050,000 after purchasing an additional 69,307 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 39.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $180,833,000 after buying an additional 2,334,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,485,834 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $163,116,000 after buying an additional 164,152 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 74.0% during the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 6,753,165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $134,185,000 after buying an additional 2,872,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,591,311 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $101,422,000 after acquiring an additional 29,861 shares during the period. 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.