Kinder Morgan Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KMI)

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 26,802 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 45% compared to the average volume of 18,489 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $26.00 target price on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, October 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.67.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $29.12. The stock had a trading volume of 14,596,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,196,508. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $27.47 and its 200-day moving average is $23.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. Kinder Morgan has a 1 year low of $16.47 and a 1 year high of $29.29.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In related news, Director Amy W. Chronis acquired 2,241 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.89 per share, for a total transaction of $55,778.49. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 23,995 shares in the company, valued at $597,235.55. The trade was a 10.30 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $502,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 861,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. This represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 745,263 shares of company stock worth $18,578,014 in the last ninety days. 12.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 10,503 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 90,560 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,000,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SignalPoint Asset Management LLC grew its position in Kinder Morgan by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 30,059 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kinder Morgan

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.