Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Shares Up 0% Following Analyst Upgrade

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)’s share price rose 0% on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $25.00 to $28.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Kinder Morgan traded as high as $27.98 and last traded at $27.47. Approximately 4,105,047 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 16,108,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.46.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,241 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $502,380.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 861,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. This represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000. 12.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KMI. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 49,744 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,001 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 15,794 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Kinder Morgan by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 625,039 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $17,126,000 after purchasing an additional 115,436 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $61.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.60.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 17.31%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.29%.

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.