Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Trading Down 1.3% - Time to Sell?

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 1.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $26.39 and last traded at $26.72. Approximately 4,544,287 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 15,750,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KMI. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.14.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $59.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.12.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is presently 98.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $502,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,493,100. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.