Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Trading Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) shares rose 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.76 and last traded at $27.80. Approximately 2,784,848 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 15,932,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.14.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $60.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.92 and its 200 day moving average is $24.88.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $498,600.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 843,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,369,160.40. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,100. 12.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 15,661 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 10,503 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 15,794 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.