Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $31.48 and last traded at $31.20, with a volume of 22775908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.31.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.92.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.32. The company has a market cap of $67.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total transaction of $502,499.88. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 897,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,590,294.56. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 2,241 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000. 12.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its position in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

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.