Kinder Morgan Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• Kinder Morgan experienced a significant surge in options trading, with 33,047 call options traded, a 90% increase from its average daily volume of 17,407.
• Insider trading activity included VP Sital K. Mody selling 45,549 shares for over $1.27 million, while Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,759 shares, increasing her stake by 8.62%.
• Kinder Morgan declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.4%, with a payout ratio of 95.90%.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 33,047 call options on the stock. Thisrepresentsanincreaseofapproximately90% compared to the typical volume of 17,407 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.80, for a total value of $171,414.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 232,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,450,545.20. This represents a 2.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dax Sanders sold 30,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.05, for a total value of $814,935.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 292,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,898,600. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,842 shares of company stock worth $3,896,180. Insiders own 12.73% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 927.1% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 873 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Kinder Morgan stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $26.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,657,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,484,992. The company has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $27.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.37. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $20.56 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Cowen started coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up previously from $31.00) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $31.20.

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.