Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Freedom Capital

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KMI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.38.

Kinder Morgan Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:KMI opened at $30.50 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $67.85 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.69. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $23.94 and a 52 week high of $30.57.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.02. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 18.04% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 139,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,182,840. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.49, for a total transaction of $169,503.34. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 201,204 shares in the company, valued at $5,531,097.96. This trade represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,498 shares of company stock valued at $1,107,462. Corporate insiders own 12.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.