Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.79.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $517,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 807,652 shares in the company, valued at $23,219,995. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,492,740. Corporate insiders own 12.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 927.1% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 873 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

NYSE KMI opened at $28.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $62.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $18.83 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.42.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. Research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. This is a boost from Kinder Morgan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.86%.

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.