Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Morgan Stanley

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) had its price objective reduced by Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $39.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Freedom Broker upgraded Kinder Morgan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.15.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 4.1%

KMI opened at $30.24 on Tuesday. Kinder Morgan has a twelve month low of $25.92 and a twelve month high of $34.81. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.11. The company has a market cap of $67.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. Kinder Morgan’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kinder Morgan will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kinder Morgan news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.65, for a total value of $52,157.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 47,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,592,082.45. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 12.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 47,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,068 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 8,498 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 72.9% in the 2nd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.0% during the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 8,588 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan, Inc (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and other transportation and storage facilities. Its systems primarily support the movement, processing, and storage of natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other energy commodities.

The company’s natural gas business transports and stores natural gas for utilities, power generators, industrial customers, and other energy companies. Kinder Morgan also operates refined products and crude oil pipelines, liquids terminals, and carbon dioxide infrastructure.