Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) Short Interest Update

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,910,000 shares, a decline of 13.0% from the February 28th total of 38,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE KMI traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.90. 10,220,888 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,692,463. Kinder Morgan has a 12 month low of $17.61 and a 12 month high of $31.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $61.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kinder Morgan will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is 98.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In related news, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total value of $2,011,035.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. The trade was a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total value of $498,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 843,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,369,160.40. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,461 shares of company stock valued at $2,988,616 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KMI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.64.

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.