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

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Kinder Morgan Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of KMI opened at $27.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.43. The stock has a market cap of $61.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Kinder Morgan has a 52-week low of $16.47 and a 52-week high of $28.81.

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

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.89 per share, for a total transaction of $55,778.49. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,235.55. The trade was a 10.30 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total value of $492,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 879,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,049,685.68. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 727,263 shares of company stock worth $18,075,634 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 143.6% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 401.8% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,430 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 63.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 1,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the second quarter valued at $30,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.