Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Price Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) was down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $27.59 and last traded at $27.89. Approximately 3,651,475 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 16,007,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.14.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $61.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,241 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,235.55. This trade represents a 10.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $502,380.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 861,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,048,707.32. This represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 143.6% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities.