Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Fifteen brokerages rate KMI a consensus "Moderate Buy" (eight buys, seven holds) with an average 12‑month price target of about $33.46.
• Insider selling notable: Insiders sold 48,048 shares worth roughly $1.47M over the last three months, leaving insiders with 12.73% ownership while institutions hold 62.52%.
• Fundamentals and payout: Kinder Morgan beat the quarter with $0.39 EPS and $4.51B revenue (revenue +13.1% year‑over‑year), and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 (annualized yield ~3.5%) with a DPR of 85.4%.

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.4615.

A number of research firms have recently commented on KMI. Freedom Capital raised Kinder Morgan from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 100,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,199,664.70. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total transaction of $51,615.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 46,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,544,886.90. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,048 shares of company stock worth $1,469,863. 12.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of KMI opened at $33.71 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.65. The company has a market cap of $74.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Kinder Morgan has a twelve month low of $23.94 and a twelve month high of $34.24.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Kinder Morgan 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 issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.40%.

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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