Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Legal & General increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 1.4% in Q3, holding 15,878,898 shares (about 0.71% of the company) valued at roughly $449.5 million after buying an additional 213,741 shares.
• Kinder Morgan beat quarterly expectations with $0.39 EPS versus $0.37 est. and $4.51B revenue (up 13.1% year-over-year), and analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $33.08 and several firms raising targets into the $35–$38 range.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 ($1.17 annual, ~3.5% yield) with an 85.4% payout ratio; recent insider activity included the CFO selling 20,000 shares while a director bought 3,000, and institutional ownership stands at about 62.5%.

Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,878,898 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 213,741 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.71% of Kinder Morgan worth $449,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KMI. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 94.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 314.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI opened at $32.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.68. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.94 and a 1-year high of $34.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $30.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.24.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 139,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,182,840. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William A. Smith acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.75 per share, with a total value of $89,250.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,498 shares of company stock valued at $1,418,248. 12.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KMI shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.08.

Kinder Morgan Profile

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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