Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Price Target Raised to $28.00

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the pipeline company's stock.

KMI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays raised Kinder Morgan from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.21.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE KMI traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,588,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,976,764. The firm has a market cap of $62.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $19.47 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This is a positive change from Kinder Morgan's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is currently 100.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $508,680.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 771,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,806,885.52. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,522,440 in the last 90 days. 12.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 927.1% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 873 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan, Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities.