Ashford Capital Management Inc. Invests $1.73 Million in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Ashford Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 78,450 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,733,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Kinder Morgan by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 15,861 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,325 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 30,305 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,085,000. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the second quarter worth $208,000. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $26.89. The stock had a trading volume of 14,650,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,809,364. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.47 and a 12-month high of $28.81. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.49. The stock has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.05 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Kinder Morgan's revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is 100.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMI. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price target on Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total value of $492,120.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 879,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,049,685.68. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director C Park Shaper sold 690,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $17,081,014.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,809,858 shares in the company, valued at $168,543,985.50. This represents a 9.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 727,263 shares of company stock valued at $18,075,634 in the last 90 days. 12.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kinder Morgan 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.