Peak Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Peak Asset Management LLC cut its Kinder Morgan stake by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 72,486 shares and ending with 45,897 shares valued at about $1.26 million.
• Analyst sentiment has improved: Zacks upgraded Kinder Morgan to strong-buy, and the stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $34.20.
• Kinder Morgan reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.48 versus $0.38 expected and revenue up 13.8% year over year, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.2975 per share.

Peak Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 61.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,897 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 72,486 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC's holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $1,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,674,000. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,882,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 46,396 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,682,241 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Kinder Morgan by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 869,127 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,605,000 after acquiring an additional 99,540 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KMI shares. Zacks Research upgraded Kinder Morgan from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Kinder Morgan from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.20.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of KMI opened at $33.63 on Monday. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.60 and a twelve month high of $34.73. The stock's 50 day moving average is $32.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.10. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 18.92%.The company had revenue of $4.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.2975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In other news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.41, for a total transaction of $199,840.06. Following the sale, the vice president owned 176,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,721,661.40. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,199,664.70. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,598 shares of company stock valued at $966,877. 12.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KMI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.