Athena Investment Management Takes Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Athena Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,818 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $27.09 on Friday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a one year low of $17.18 and a one year high of $31.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.19 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.49.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. As a group, analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KMI. Barclays lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. The trade was a 25.48 % 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. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the president now owns 879,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,049,685.68. This represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,504,136 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

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.