Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) is Cove Street Capital LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Cove Street Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,421 shares during the period. Kinder Morgan comprises about 3.3% of Cove Street Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Cove Street Capital LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $2,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 178.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,148.65. This trade represents a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $498,600.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 843,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,369,160.40. The trade was a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,461 shares of company stock worth $3,490,996. Corporate insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

Shares of KMI opened at $28.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.61 and a 52-week high of $31.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.38.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. Research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KMI shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.64.

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.