LS Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 36,229 Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• LS Investment Advisors acquired a new stake of 36,229 Kinder Morgan shares in Q4, valued at about $996,000, and institutional investors now own 62.52% of the company.
• Kinder Morgan beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.39 EPS vs. $0.37 expected and $4.51 billion in revenue vs. $4.33 billion expected, with revenue up 13.1% year‑over‑year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 ($1.17 annual) for a yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 85.4%, while insiders sold 48,048 shares totaling roughly $1.5 million in the last three months.

LS Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 36,229 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,426,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,674,000. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,882,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,231,845 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $34,874,000 after buying an additional 46,396 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 12,452,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $352,519,000 after buying an additional 1,682,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI opened at $31.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.32. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.42 and a fifty-two week high of $34.73.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. Equities research 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total value of $51,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 46,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,544,886.90. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 48,048 shares of company stock worth $1,503,406 in the last three months. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.33.

Kinder Morgan Company 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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