Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Sets New 12-Month High at $21.86

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $21.86 and last traded at $21.84, with a volume of 10181866 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KMI shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded Kinder Morgan to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Argus raised Kinder Morgan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.55.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $48.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 15.93%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.55%.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 21,413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total transaction of $455,026.25. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,169 shares in the company, valued at $534,841.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.01, for a total transaction of $2,101,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 916,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,261,400.73. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sital K. Mody sold 21,413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total transaction of $455,026.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,169 shares in the company, valued at $534,841.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,311 shares of company stock worth $3,121,891. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 32.7% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,597,000. RiverFront Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 6.3% in the second quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 31,561 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.6% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,428,295 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,380,000 after acquiring an additional 8,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the second quarter worth $30,000. 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.