Rafferty Asset Management LLC Buys 22,386 Shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. $KMI

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 416,317 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,386 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $11,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,162,802,000. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Kinder Morgan in the second quarter worth about $138,477,000. 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Kinder Morgan by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 10,597,380 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $311,563,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739,398 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 364.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,165,348 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $122,461,000 after buying an additional 3,269,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kinder Morgan by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 207,219,481 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,092,253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,070,609 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Performance

NYSE:KMI opened at $33.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $73.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.70. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.94 and a twelve month high of $33.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The pipeline company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Kinder Morgan’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William A. Smith bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.75 per share, with a total value of $89,250.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 31,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,838.25. The trade was a 10.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO David Patrick Michels sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,498 shares of company stock worth $1,382,115. 12.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Kinder Morgan from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.54.

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.