Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.24 and last traded at $32.7070, with a volume of 10039794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on KMI shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.38.

Kinder Morgan Trading Down 0.1%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.98 and its 200 day moving average is $27.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $72.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.70.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is presently 85.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $255,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 100,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,199,664.70. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William A. Smith bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.75 per share, with a total value of $89,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,838.25. The trade was a 10.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 46,498 shares of company stock worth $1,382,115. 12.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kinder Morgan

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 210,281,448 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,780,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,130 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 116,860,317 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,212,490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510,601 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,848,863 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,518,195,000 after purchasing an additional 599,152 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,132,125,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 30,104,829 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $827,582,000 after buying an additional 195,088 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company that owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines and terminals across North America. Its core activities center on the transportation, storage and handling of energy products, including natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined petroleum products and carbon dioxide. The company’s assets include long-haul and gathering pipelines, storage facilities, and multi-modal terminals that serve producers, refiners, utilities and industrial customers.

Kinder Morgan’s operations deliver midstream services such as pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage and related logistics and maintenance.