Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.03 and traded as high as $32.41. Kinder Morgan shares last traded at $32.0310, with a volume of 7,280,801 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Kinder Morgan from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.15.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $71.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.03 and a 200-day moving average of $32.16.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2975 per share. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.46%.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other news, Chairman Richard D. Kinder bought 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.99 per share, for a total transaction of $14,995,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 246,712,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,398,903,466.47. This trade represents a 0.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.00, for a total value of $192,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 158,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,898,248. The trade was a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 9,300 shares of company stock valued at $292,098 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 12.2% in the third quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 893,921 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,952,000 after buying an additional 97,100 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 15.5% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 48,855 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 6,552 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 719,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,677,000 after acquiring an additional 71,480 shares during the period. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,574,928 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $198,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,795,182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that transports and stores natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products and other energy-related commodities. Its assets include pipelines, terminals and storage facilities serving energy producers, utilities, industrial customers and other markets across the United States and Canada. The company’s operations include natural gas transportation and storage, refined-products and crude-oil pipelines, bulk and liquids terminals, and carbon dioxide transportation.