Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Investors purchased 13,780 put options on Kinder Morgan, 46% above the typical volume of 9,416, while the stock rose 3.4% to $33.93.
• Solid quarterly performance and dividend: Kinder Morgan reported quarterly earnings of $0.37 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.06, with revenue up 10.8% year over year. The company pays an annualized dividend of $1.19, yielding about 3.5%.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish: The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $35.47, though analyst views range from “Hold” to “Buy.” Institutional investors own approximately 62.5% of the shares.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 13,780 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the typical volume of 9,416 put options.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of Kinder Morgan stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.93. 5,886,890 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,124,424. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.63 and a 200-day moving average of $32.02. Kinder Morgan has a 12 month low of $25.60 and a 12 month high of $34.81. The company has a market cap of $75.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.46.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kinder Morgan will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.2975 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total transaction of $47,740.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 48,863 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,980.40. This trade represents a 3.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kinder Morgan

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 175,834,246 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,621,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875,143 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 4.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 130,863,419 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,183,704,000 after purchasing an additional 5,361,578 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,018,394 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,079,477,000 after purchasing an additional 836,571 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 2.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,237,384 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $577,998,000 after purchasing an additional 448,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 5.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,130,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $507,332,000 after buying an additional 831,125 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KMI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kinder Morgan from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.47.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc NYSE: KMI is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities. Its assets primarily transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and carbon dioxide, supporting energy producers, utilities, refiners, industrial companies, and other customers.

The company's natural gas business includes interstate and intrastate pipelines, gathering and processing systems, and underground storage facilities.

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