Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Given New $35.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Kinder Morgan from $34 to $35 and kept an overweight rating, implying roughly a 4.8% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is modestly positive—MarketBeat shows a consensus of Moderate Buy (eight Buys, seven Holds) with an average price target of $33.38, and several firms (Mizuho, RBC, Scotiabank) recently raised targets.
• Kinder Morgan beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.39 vs. $0.37) with revenue up 13.1% year-over-year; insiders have sold shares recently (46,498 shares worth about $1.42M over three months) and the stock trades near $33.38 with a $74.3B market cap.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 4.84% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KMI. Scotiabank raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of KMI stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.38. 2,281,261 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,295,885. The company has a market capitalization of $74.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.05 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. The firm's 50-day moving average is $30.61 and its 200 day moving average is $28.31. Kinder Morgan has a 1 year low of $23.94 and a 1 year high of $34.24.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. Kinder Morgan's revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.67, for a total value of $207,609.22. Following the sale, the vice president owned 188,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,359,320.24. This trade represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 20,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $600,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 139,428 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,182,840. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 46,498 shares of company stock worth $1,418,248 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 11.4% during the 2nd 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. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 31,658 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 2.4% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 449,427 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $13,213,000 after acquiring an additional 10,419 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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