Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Price Down 3.3% on Insider Selling

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)’s share price traded down 3.3% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $26.65 and last traded at $26.72. 4,224,160 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 15,813,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.64.

Specifically, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 843,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,369,160.40. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.14.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of $60.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.91.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued 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 return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 98.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KMI. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kinder Morgan by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 177,858 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,873,000 after purchasing an additional 6,115 shares in the last quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 86,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,369,000 after buying an additional 4,851 shares during the period. Miller Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,621,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 111.7% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 25,137 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $689,000 after acquiring an additional 13,261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

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.