Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.82 and last traded at $28.48, with a volume of 1298786 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.67.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $62.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

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

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is presently 100.88%.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $502,380.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 861,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,048,707.32. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C Park Shaper sold 690,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 6,809,858 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 745,263 shares of company stock worth $18,578,014. 12.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,904,252 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $335,891,000 after buying an additional 257,658 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 10,550,002 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $233,050,000 after acquiring an additional 69,307 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 39.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,186,207 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $180,833,000 after buying an additional 2,334,273 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 20.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,770,943 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $154,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,485,834 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $163,116,000 after buying an additional 164,152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company's stock.

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.