RR Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• RR Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. by 4.6%, acquiring an additional 40,000 shares, and now owns 909,000 shares valued at approximately $25.9 million.
• Kinder Morgan reported $4.04 billion in revenue for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with an annual EPS growth of 13.2%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share, with a potential annual yield of 4.4% and a high payout ratio of 95.90%.

RR Advisors LLC grew its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 909,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Kinder Morgan comprises about 6.2% of RR Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. RR Advisors LLC's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $25,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Grove Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Oak Grove Capital LLC now owns 63,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 17,500 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 375,486 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $10,713,000 after buying an additional 6,035 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 135,350 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,875,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 2,343,165 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $66,581,000 after buying an additional 609,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 27,817 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KMI. Cowen began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $34.00 target price on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.20.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.69. The stock had a trading volume of 13,657,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,228,220. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.37. The company has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.56 and a fifty-two week high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.28. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.75 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.06% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is presently 95.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dax Sanders sold 30,127 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total value of $814,935.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 292,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,898,600. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $508,680.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 771,652 shares in the company, valued at $21,806,885.52. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,842 shares of company stock worth $3,896,180. 12.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kinder Morgan Company 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.