Kinder Morgan Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KMI)

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 32,488 put options on the company. This is an increase of 52% compared to the average daily volume of 21,350 put options.

More Kinder Morgan News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kinder Morgan this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on KMI from $34 to $36 (equal-weight). The higher target signals modest upside potential from the firm’s view even though the rating stayed neutral. Benzinga Article
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reaffirmed a Buy on KMI and the company added roughly $900M in new gas projects to its backlog — clear evidence of near-term growth in fee-bearing assets that should support cash flow and distributions. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: Sector commentary highlights rising clean-energy demand and stronger U.S. LNG exports lifting natural gas fundamentals, which benefits midstream names including KMI by improving volumes and utilization. Zacks — Natural Gas Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: KMI presented at the Raymond James Institutional Investor Conference — visibility from management and any incremental cadence on projects or capital allocation could influence sentiment but the transcript didn’t contain headline surprises. Seeking Alpha — Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted KMI outperformed the market recently but underperformed some peers on a relative basis — mixed relative performance can limit momentum even if the absolute trend is up. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets flag KMI among pipeline/midstream names positioned to capture additional cash flow from energy demand shifts — supportive backdrop but not an immediate catalyst on its own. Zacks — Pipeline Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option activity: investors bought ~32,488 KMI put contracts (a ~52% increase vs. average), which can signal increased hedging or bearish positioning that may weigh on the stock if buying persists.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on KMI shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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 note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Freedom Capital upgraded Kinder Morgan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kinder Morgan has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.62.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.79. 11,880,886 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,636,435. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.68. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $23.94 and a 52 week high of $34.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.95.

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

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kinder Morgan news, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 20,000 shares of Kinder Morgan 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 139,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,182,840. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony B. Ashley sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $255,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 100,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,199,664.70. This represents a 7.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,498 shares of company stock valued at $1,382,115. 12.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.