Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Short Interest Update

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 43,450,000 shares, a growth of 7.4% from the August 15th total of 40,470,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KMI shares. Tudor Pickering upgraded Kinder Morgan to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus upgraded Kinder Morgan from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Nine equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Dax Sanders sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $36,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 307,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,455,589. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Sital K. Mody sold 25,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $529,555.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dax Sanders sold 1,729 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $36,309.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 307,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,455,589. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,311 shares of company stock valued at $3,121,891 over the last 90 days. 12.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kinder Morgan

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3,655.3% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the first quarter valued at $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE KMI traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.56. The company had a trading volume of 8,887,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,776,531. Kinder Morgan has a 12 month low of $15.89 and a 12 month high of $21.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $21.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.66.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.13 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 15.93% and a return on equity of 7.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kinder Morgan will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.33%. Kinder Morgan's payout ratio is 104.55%.

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.