Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Jumps 1.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) traded up 1.4% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $32.41 and last traded at $32.0310. Approximately 7,273,686 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 12,454,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Kinder Morgan from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.15.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.02 and a 200 day moving average of $32.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.46%.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.65, for a total value of $52,157.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 47,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,592,082.45. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Schlosser sold 6,200 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $192,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 158,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,898,248. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,300 shares of company stock valued at $292,098. Insiders own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter worth about $239,397,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 130,863,419 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,183,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,361,578 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 220.9% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,915,696 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $125,185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,654 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 253.0% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,994,968 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $100,421,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146,573 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 1.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that transports and stores natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products and other energy-related commodities. Its assets include pipelines, terminals and storage facilities serving energy producers, utilities, industrial customers and other markets across the United States and Canada. The company’s operations include natural gas transportation and storage, refined-products and crude-oil pipelines, bulk and liquids terminals, and carbon dioxide transportation.