Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) Stock

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $36.00 in a research report issued on Thursday. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.60% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Kinder Morgan from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinder Morgan presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.92.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE KMI traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,191,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,481,699. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.94. Kinder Morgan has a fifty-two week low of $16.47 and a fifty-two week high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.76%. Equities research analysts predict that Kinder Morgan will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, Director Amy W. Chronis acquired 2,241 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.89 per share, for a total transaction of $55,778.49. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,995 shares in the company, valued at $597,235.55. This represents a 10.30 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Thomas A. Martin sold 19,121 shares of Kinder Morgan stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.28, for a total value of $502,499.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 897,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,590,294.56. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,121 shares of company stock valued at $1,497,000 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinder Morgan

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan by 143.6% during the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.