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

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,910,000 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the February 28th total of 38,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised Kinder Morgan from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.64.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total value of $2,011,035.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. This represents a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $498,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 843,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,369,160.40. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,490,996 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 12.81% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMI. CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 15,661 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.6% in 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 period. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 9,992 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 26,083 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kinder Morgan by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 5,182 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

KMI traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, reaching $28.93. The stock had a trading volume of 8,656,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,704,453. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.35 and a 200-day moving average of $26.54. Kinder Morgan has a fifty-two week low of $17.61 and a fifty-two week high of $31.48. The company has a market capitalization of $64.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 8.09%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Kinder Morgan's dividend payout ratio is 98.29%.

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.