Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $3.80 Million Investment in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 138,512 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $3,795,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 303,044 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $8,303,000 after purchasing an additional 15,114 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 2,507.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 16,430 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 15,800 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,265,044 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $62,062,000 after buying an additional 44,474 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 86.3% during the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 23,716 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 10,987 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE KMI traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $28.03. The stock had a trading volume of 15,718,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,021,311. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.99 and a 1 year high of $31.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $62.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. On average, analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.86%.

Insider Activity

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.61, for a total value of $478,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 825,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,970,599.72. This trade represents a 2.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock worth $1,492,740. Corporate insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMI. Scotiabank increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.79.

Kinder Morgan 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.