Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $5.63 Million in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group bought a new stake of 199,002 Kinder Morgan shares valued at approximately $5.63 million during the third quarter, per its Form 13F filing.
• Kinder Morgan reported quarterly EPS of $0.39 (beating estimates) and revenue of $4.51 billion (up 13.1% year-over-year), and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 (annualized $1.17) for a ~3.5% yield.
• Analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $33.08, while individual broker views range from Jefferies’ $31 hold to UBS’s $38 buy and Morgan Stanley’s $36 target.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 199,002 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $5,634,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 11.4% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 69,444 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 7,081 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 23.7% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 141,531 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,161,000 after purchasing an additional 27,078 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 1.2% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 87,194 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 793,021 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $23,307,000 after buying an additional 463,232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KMI. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director William A. Smith purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.75 per share, for a total transaction of $89,250.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,838.25. The trade was a 10.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the vice president directly owned 100,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,199,664.70. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,498 shares of company stock worth $1,418,248 over the last ninety days. 12.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of KMI stock opened at $33.30 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.20. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a one year low of $23.94 and a one year high of $34.24. The stock has a market cap of $74.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Kinder Morgan's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

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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