Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group boosted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 48.2% in Q4 to 422,808 shares (about $11.62M), and institutional investors now own roughly 62.52% of the stock.
• Kinder Morgan beat Q1 estimates with $0.48 EPS (vs. $0.38 expected) and $4.83B revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.2975 (annual $1.19) for a ~3.6% yield.
• Analyst and risk outlook: The stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $34.20 target after several raises, but recent insider selling, a lawsuit related to a pipeline explosion, and trimmed near‑term EPS estimates present potential downside risks.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 422,808 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 137,593 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $11,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 210,281,448 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,780,637,000 after buying an additional 2,165,130 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 22,635,179 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $665,474,000 after buying an additional 670,856 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,165,368 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $627,502,000 after buying an additional 216,039 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,551,759 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $468,588,000 after buying an additional 205,820 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,878,898 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $449,532,000 after buying an additional 213,741 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 100,146 shares in the company, valued at $3,199,664.70. The trade was a 7.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total transaction of $49,166.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 44,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,422,419.96. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,598 shares of company stock worth $952,572. 12.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI opened at $32.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $32.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.60. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.60 and a twelve month high of $34.73.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.55 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.92% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $0.2975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KMI shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Kinder Morgan from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.20.

Key Stories Impacting Kinder Morgan

Here are the key news stories impacting Kinder Morgan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded KMI from "hold" to "strong-buy," which can drive buying interest from retail and quant strategies that follow Zacks ratings. Zacks Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Comparative research pieces argue KMI is a better midstream pick than Energy Transfer (ET) — citing stronger price gains, an improving earnings outlook and lower leverage vs. ET — supporting rotation into KMI. Energy Transfer vs. Kinder Morgan
• Positive Sentiment: Sector notes show midstream payout growth continuing into Q2 2026, reinforcing income-seeking demand for pipeline names like KMI. Midstream Payout Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlight that Wall Street's average brokerage recommendation on KMI is a "Buy" and analysts remain moderately optimistic — supportive but not a catalyst by itself. Is It Worth Investing in Kinder Morgan?
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary suggests geopolitical volatility (the Iran conflict) created short‑term trading opportunities in KMI — this can boost volume/volatility but is speculative rather than fundamental. Barchart Short-Term Trade Note
• Negative Sentiment: A Texas worker filed a lawsuit after a recent Kinder Morgan pipeline explosion alleging safety lapses; legal, remediation and reputational costs could pressure the stock if exposure grows. Pipeline Explosion Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: US Capital Advisors trimmed several near‑term quarterly EPS estimates (notably Q2/Q3 2026), introducing some short‑term earnings downside risk even as multi‑year forecasts were mixed/upward. (Research note summarized by MarketBeat.)

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.

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