Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,202,493 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the July 14th total of 25,760,757 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 12,995,674 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.
A number of equities analysts have commented on KMI shares. Raymond James Financial, Inc. reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Saturday, July 22nd. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Kinder Morgan from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Kinder Morgan from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $26.50) on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Monday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Kinder Morgan has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.91.
In related news, Director William A. Smith purchased 4,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.24 per share, with a total value of $99,236.72. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,587 shares in the company, valued at $295,240.88. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Dax Sanders purchased 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 three months, insiders acquired 507,503 shares of company stock valued at $9,437,597. Corporate insiders own 13.99% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 0.6% in the second quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 0.3% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 1,329,860 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,480,000 after buying an additional 4,577 shares during the period. Wealthsource Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the second quarter valued at $192,000. Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 0.7% in the second quarter. Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC now owns 411,348 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $7,881,000 after buying an additional 3,045 shares during the period. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 8.6% in the second quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 13,536 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. 57.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Kinder Morgan (KMI) opened at 18.71 on Thursday. Kinder Morgan has a 12-month low of $18.31 and a 12-month high of $23.36. The company has a market capitalization of $41.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.75 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.68 and its 200-day moving average is $20.44.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 19th. The pipeline company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 4.41% and a net margin of 6.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post $0.64 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 27th. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 161.29%.
Kinder Morgan declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 19th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the pipeline company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Kinder Morgan Company Profile
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.
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