Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Kinder Morgan’s price target from $38 to $40 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 17.73% potential upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally favorable: 12 analysts rate the stock “Buy” and 11 rate it “Hold,” producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $36.65 average price target.
• Kinder Morgan exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.35 in EPS versus the $0.33 consensus and $4.53 billion in revenue, up 9.3% year over year.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 17.73% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "hold" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.65.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI opened at $33.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.86. The stock has a market cap of $75.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.59. Kinder Morgan has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $34.81.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 19.64%. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan will post 1.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.65, for a total transaction of $52,157.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 47,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,592,082.45. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4,166.7% during the 2nd quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 768 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 72.9% in the 2nd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 112.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 946 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc NYSE: KMI is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and other transportation and storage facilities. Its systems primarily support the movement, processing, and storage of natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other energy commodities.

The company's natural gas business transports and stores natural gas for utilities, power generators, industrial customers, and other energy companies. Kinder Morgan also operates refined products and crude oil pipelines, liquids terminals, and carbon dioxide infrastructure.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.