Kinder Morgan Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KMI)

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 34,571 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 51% compared to the typical daily volume of 22,868 call options.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Kinder Morgan stock traded up $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $27.99. The company had a trading volume of 10,638,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,367,132. Kinder Morgan has a twelve month low of $16.47 and a twelve month high of $31.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.00 and a 200-day moving average of $24.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.10%. Research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on KMI. Barclays increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In related news, Director Amy W. Chronis acquired 2,241 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $502,499.88. Following the sale, the president now owns 897,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,590,294.56. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000 in the last 90 days. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.