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

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.3846.

Several brokerages have issued reports on KMI. Freedom Capital raised shares of Kinder Morgan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.49, for a total value of $169,503.34. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 201,204 shares in the company, valued at $5,531,097.96. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,664.70. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,498 shares of company stock worth $1,382,115. 12.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.8%

KMI opened at $33.04 on Friday. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $23.94 and a 52 week high of $33.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $73.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.70.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 18.04%.The business had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company that owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines and terminals across North America. Its core activities center on the transportation, storage and handling of energy products, including natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined petroleum products and carbon dioxide. The company’s assets include long-haul and gathering pipelines, storage facilities, and multi-modal terminals that serve producers, refiners, utilities and industrial customers.

Kinder Morgan’s operations deliver midstream services such as pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage and related logistics and maintenance.