Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: 17 brokerages give Kinder Morgan a consensus "Hold" (9 hold, 8 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $34.33.
• Recent results: The company reported $0.39 EPS vs. $0.37 expected and $4.51B revenue (up 13.1% y/y), and analysts forecast about $1.25 EPS for the current year.
• Income and growth catalysts: Kinder Morgan pays a $0.2925 quarterly dividend ($1.17 annualized, ~3.7% yield; 85.4% payout ratio) and gained a boost to its growth/valuation story after DOE approval to expand LNG export volumes at the Elba Island terminal.

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.3333.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMI shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, January 22nd.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

KMI opened at $32.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $32.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Kinder Morgan has a 12-month low of $25.42 and a 12-month high of $34.73.

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

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Key Headlines Impacting Kinder Morgan

Here are the key news stories impacting Kinder Morgan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: U.S. Department of Energy approved expanded LNG export volumes for Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island terminal — this raises the company’s potential long‑term cash flows from LNG exports and improves the growth/valuation story for an otherwise mostly stable midstream business. DOE approval raises valuation questions
• Positive Sentiment: An institutional investor (Baxter Bros Inc.) increased its stake by 21,840 shares in Q4 — institutional buying can signal conviction and provide a bid under the stock. Baxter Bros purchase
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/outlet support: media pieces (The Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha) highlight KMI as an attractive dividend/midstream name and preview its dividend hike streak — this reinforces income‑investor demand. Motley Fool pick Dividend preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Market attention is elevated — Zacks/Yahoo note heavy search and interest in KMI, which can increase intraday volume and volatility without changing fundamentals. Investor search interest
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 earnings and webcast scheduled — Wall Street estimates and metric previews are circulating; results or guidance could move the stock more than the background news. Q1 estimates preview Earnings webcast
• Negative Sentiment: KMI VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan (3.34% reduction in his holdings) — insider selling can be viewed negatively by some investors, though the trade was executed under a rule‑based plan which mutes the signal. SEC Form 4

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.93, for a total transaction of $203,046.38. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 182,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,016,508.58. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.72, for a total value of $49,166.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,422,419.96. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 49,598 shares of company stock worth $1,552,572 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 11.4% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 69,444 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,042,000 after buying an additional 7,081 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 270,876 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,964,000 after purchasing an additional 5,586 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 20.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 861,465 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $25,328,000 after purchasing an additional 145,806 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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.