Traders Buy Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) on Weakness

Traders purchased shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) on weakness during trading hours on Friday. $34.67 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $23.69 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $10.98 million into the stock. Of all equities tracked, Kinder Morgan had the 28th highest net in-flow for the day. Kinder Morgan traded down ($0.32) for the day and closed at $19.07

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KMI. Credit Suisse Group set a $27.00 price target on Kinder Morgan and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Macquarie began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, April 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial, Inc. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Saturday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised Kinder Morgan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.91.

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.68 and its 200-day moving average is $20.53. The stock has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94 and a beta of 0.64.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The pipeline company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 6.20%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post $0.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 161.29%.

Kinder Morgan announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the pipeline company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

In related news, Director William A. Smith purchased 4,903 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.24 per share, for a total transaction of $99,236.72. Following the purchase, the director now owns 14,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $295,240.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Dax Sanders purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.60 per share, with a total value of $48,360.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 507,503 shares of company stock valued at $9,437,597. 13.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 138,904,165 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,019,777,000 after buying an additional 6,222,962 shares during the period. Commonwealth Bank of Australia increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 45.9% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia now owns 19,733,993 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $378,101,000 after buying an additional 6,205,165 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 133.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,210,372 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $157,311,000 after buying an additional 4,694,441 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 56.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,683,643 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $210,507,000 after buying an additional 3,483,039 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 49.5% in the first quarter. TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC now owns 10,086,045 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $219,271,000 after buying an additional 3,340,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.70% of the company’s stock.

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About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan, Inc is an energy infrastructure company. It operates through five segments. Its Natural Gas Pipelines segment is engaged in the ownership and operation of interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline and storage systems, and liquefied natural gas facilities, among others. Its CO2 segment is engaged in the production, transportation and marketing of carbon dioxide (CO2) to oil fields and the ownership and operation of a crude oil pipeline system, among others.