Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Shares Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)’s stock price shot up 1.8% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $31.12 and last traded at $31.0670. 11,618,509 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 12,178,630 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Kinder Morgan

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer recommended buying Kinder Morgan, describing the energy stock as “too cheap.” His endorsement may improve retail-investor sentiment. Cramer’s lightning round: Buy Kinder Morgan
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary highlights Kinder Morgan’s resilience compared with more commodity-sensitive energy companies. Fee-based revenue and long-term contracts provide relatively stable cash flow despite volatile oil prices. Beyond Oil Price Swings: 3 Midstream Stocks Built for Resilience
• Positive Sentiment: The expansion of AI infrastructure is viewed as a potential long-term catalyst for natural-gas pipeline operators, including KMI, as data centers require dependable power supplies. 3 Pipeline Stocks Getting Bigger Without Taking on More Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage comparing KMI with ONEOK frames Kinder Morgan as a potential recession-resistant income investment, but emphasizes that investors must weigh dividend yield, payout reliability, contract structures, and balance-sheet strength. Better Recession-Proof Dividend Stock: KMI or OKE?
• Neutral Sentiment: KMI’s recent market outperformance and increased search activity are drawing investor attention, although the reports provide no major new company-specific announcement or change to earnings expectations. Kinder Morgan Is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Rising Treasury yields are weighing on dividend-paying pipeline and utility stocks because bonds offer more competitive income. This creates a valuation and income-investment headwind for KMI, even as some investors view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Treasury Yields Are Crushing Dividend Stocks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $33.00 price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Melius Research began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Kinder Morgan from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.77.

Kinder Morgan Trading Up 1.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $69.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. Kinder Morgan had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.28 EPS. Kinder Morgan has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.360 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.2975 per share. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael Garthwaite sold 1,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total value of $47,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 48,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,980.40. The trade was a 3.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP John Schlosser sold 6,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.90, for a total value of $196,695.40. Following the sale, the vice president owned 164,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,238,235.20. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parrish Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 7.4% in the third quarter. Parrish Capital LLC now owns 26,266 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kinder Morgan by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 224,085 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,164,000 after acquiring an additional 7,092 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 7.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 574,907 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $18,380,000 after acquiring an additional 37,922 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kinder Morgan by 0.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,122,523 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $163,766,000 after acquiring an additional 38,739 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kinder Morgan by 4.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 130,863,419 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,183,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,361,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

About Kinder Morgan

Kinder Morgan, Inc (NYSE: KMI) is an energy infrastructure company that owns and operates pipelines, terminals, and storage facilities. Its assets primarily transport and store natural gas, crude oil, refined petroleum products, and carbon dioxide, supporting energy producers, utilities, refiners, industrial companies, and other customers.

The company’s natural gas business includes interstate and intrastate pipelines, gathering and processing systems, and underground storage facilities.