Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.82 and last traded at $28.48, with a volume of 1298786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KMI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price objective on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $62.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.23 and a 200 day moving average of $23.68.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.05 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $502,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 861,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. This represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,241 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 745,263 shares of company stock valued at $18,578,014. 12.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kinder Morgan

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.