Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Price Target Raised to $28.00

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) had its price target increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $27.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on KMI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.21.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of KMI stock opened at $28.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. Kinder Morgan has a 12-month low of $19.47 and a 12-month high of $31.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.46.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The pipeline company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. Research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. This is an increase from Kinder Morgan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is 100.86%.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.26, for a total transaction of $508,680.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 771,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,806,885.52. This trade represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 54,000 shares of company stock worth $1,522,440 in the last three months. Insiders own 12.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 1.0% during the first quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 37,981 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.8% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 48,943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 26,083 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,068 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 23,738 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by 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.