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

Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 34,571 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 51% compared to the typical volume of 22,868 call options.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE KMI opened at $27.30 on Thursday. Kinder Morgan has a 52 week low of $16.47 and a 52 week high of $31.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $60.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.94.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.10%. Research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is 98.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total value of $492,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 879,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,049,685.68. The trade was a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Amy W. Chronis purchased 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.89 per share, with a total value of $55,778.49. Following the purchase, the director now owns 23,995 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $597,235.55. This represents a 10.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000. 12.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KMI. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 457,238 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,040,000 after buying an additional 45,917 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 391,908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,787,000 after purchasing an additional 55,207 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 291,085 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,784,000 after purchasing an additional 68,308 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kinder Morgan by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,787 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,897,000 after purchasing an additional 13,628 shares during the period. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on KMI. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America began coverage on Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.14.

About Kinder Morgan

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.