Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Kinder Morgan stake by 14.1% in the first quarter, selling 475,138 shares and leaving it with 2.9 million shares valued at about $97.1 million.
• Kinder Morgan posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.48 versus the $0.38 estimate and revenue of $4.83 billion, up 13.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.2975, lifting the annualized yield to 3.7%.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $34.71, while recent insider selling and hedge fund activity show continued portfolio adjustments around the name.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,896,158 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 475,138 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Kinder Morgan worth $97,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KMI. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter worth $271,000. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the first quarter worth about $3,406,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the first quarter worth approximately $1,388,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of Kinder Morgan stock opened at $32.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.60 and a 52 week high of $34.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $32.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.54.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.10. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.92% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The business had revenue of $4.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The company's revenue 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 forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.2975 dividend. This is a boost from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is currently 79.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kinder Morgan from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Kinder Morgan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.71.

Insider Activity

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.41, for a total transaction of $199,840.06. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 176,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,721,661.40. This trade represents a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.44, for a total value of $48,732.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 41,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,312,399.92. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,598 shares of company stock worth $693,689. Corporate insiders own 12.72% of the company's stock.

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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