Traders Buy High Volume of Kinder Morgan Call Options (NYSE:KMI)

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 25,728 call options on the company. This is an increase of 73% compared to the typical volume of 14,862 call options.

Key Stories Impacting Kinder Morgan

Here are the key news stories impacting Kinder Morgan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates — KMI reported Q4 revenue of $4.51B and EPS above consensus, capping a record year with higher net income and adjusted EBITDA; investors are reacting to stronger profitability and margin improvement. Kinder Morgan Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained and attractive yield — the board approved a $0.2925 quarterly dividend ($1.17 annualized), implying roughly a 4% yield, supporting the stock’s income appeal for yield‑focused investors. Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger LNG demand and $10B backlog — management cited rising LNG feed‑gas demand (projected ~19.8 Bcf/day in 2026) and a backlog north of $10B, underpinning medium‑term throughput and fee revenue. Kinder Morgan projects $19.8Bcf/day LNG feed gas demand
• Positive Sentiment: Project pipeline & commercial momentum — KMI is advancing projects (including activity around the Western Gateway pipeline open season) and plans ~$3.4B in planned CAPEX, which should drive future contracted cash flows. PSX & KMI Launch Second Open Season for Western Gateway Pipeline
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro tailwinds from AI/data centers — analysts are highlighting rising electricity demand from AI data centers as a structural tailwind for natural gas-fired generation and pipeline utilization; this is thematic support but indirect and medium-term. 5 Natural Gas Dividend Stocks to Play Frigid Weather and Huge AI-Data Center Demand
• Negative Sentiment: Cautious guidance & cash‑flow nuance — management issued tepid guidance relative to some expectations and flagged modest declines in operating cash flow while raising capital spending; the combination tempers near‑term upside despite the beat. Kinder Morgan Tops Earnings Estimates In Q4, Lifts Dividend, Lowers Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: High payout relative to earnings & some insider selling — payout ratios remain elevated versus GAAP earnings and there has been notable insider selling activity reported, which could concern yield‑sensitive or governance‑focused investors. Quiver Quantitative Earnings Summary & Insider Activity

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis bought 3,800 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.23 per share, for a total transaction of $99,674.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 39,051 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,307.73. This represents a 10.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.49, for a total transaction of $169,503.34. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 201,204 shares in the company, valued at $5,531,097.96. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,004,287 shares of company stock valued at $26,072,463 and have sold 18,498 shares valued at $507,462. Corporate insiders own 12.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 7,896 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,818 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 10,947 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Alhambra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 2.3% during the second quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 15,934 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 2.2% in the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 17,131 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE KMI traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.70. The company had a trading volume of 9,911,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,809,317. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $66.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.69. Kinder Morgan has a fifty-two week low of $23.94 and a fifty-two week high of $31.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.20.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 16.61% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is presently 95.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on KMI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $35.00 target price on Kinder Morgan in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Kinder Morgan from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.87.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) is a large energy infrastructure company that owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines and terminals across North America. Its core activities center on the transportation, storage and handling of energy products, including natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined petroleum products and carbon dioxide. The company’s assets include long-haul and gathering pipelines, storage facilities, and multi-modal terminals that serve producers, refiners, utilities and industrial customers.

Kinder Morgan’s operations deliver midstream services such as pipeline transportation, terminaling, storage and related logistics and maintenance.