Gradient Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 503,379 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $13,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 94.9% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 314.6% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Kinder Morgan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.46.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 2.6%

KMI stock opened at $33.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.45 and its 200 day moving average is $28.65. The stock has a market cap of $74.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.68. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.94 and a 1-year high of $34.24.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The business had revenue of $4.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. Kinder Morgan’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William A. Smith purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.75 per share, with a total value of $89,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 31,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,838.25. This trade represents a 10.68% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael P. Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.30, for a total value of $51,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 46,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,544,886.90. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 48,048 shares of company stock valued at $1,469,863 in the last three months. 12.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

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.