Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Upgraded to "Outperform" at Wolfe Research

Key Points

• Kinder Morgan's stock was upgraded by Wolfe Research from a "peer perform" rating to "outperform," with a price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.16% from its previous close.
• The company reported $4.04 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by 13.2%, with earnings per share matching expectations at $0.28.
• In recent insider activity, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares at an average price of $28.26, decreasing his holdings by 2.28% to approximately $21.8 million.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $31.00 price target on the pipeline company's stock. Wolfe Research's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.33% from the company's current price.

KMI has been the topic of several other reports. Cowen began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.13.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $27.85. 6,938,281 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,343,056. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $27.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.56. Kinder Morgan has a 12 month low of $19.68 and a 12 month high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.31% and a net margin of 17.06%. The company had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Kinder Morgan's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total value of $508,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 771,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,806,885.52. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 204,148,872 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,824,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302,794 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,759,844 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,414,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,609 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $917,523,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 20,942,841 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $573,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608,499 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 20,281,385 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $578,628,000 after acquiring an additional 5,529,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company's stock.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

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.