Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Price

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $32.00 to $35.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, December 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of KMI opened at $33.61 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Kinder Morgan has a 12 month low of $23.94 and a 12 month high of $34.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.08 and its 200-day moving average is $28.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.68.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 18.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other news, Director William A. Smith acquired 3,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.75 per share, for a total transaction of $89,250.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $924,838.25. The trade was a 10.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total value of $51,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 46,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,544,886.90. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,048 shares of company stock valued at $1,469,863. 12.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kinder Morgan

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,132,125,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kinder Morgan by 431.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,569,082 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,971,000 after acquiring an additional 5,333,986 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at $138,477,000. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 177.8% during the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 6,070,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $171,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,885,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 59 North Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 54.5% during the second quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 10,597,380 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $311,563,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739,398 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.