Chung Wu Investment Group LLC Buys New Shares in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 62.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinder Morgan Stock Down 0.9 %

Kinder Morgan stock opened at $26.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.49. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a one year low of $17.45 and a one year high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its 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 net margin of 17.31% and a return on equity of 8.09%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Kinder Morgan’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised shares of Kinder Morgan from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.64.

Insider Activity at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 843,652 shares in the company, valued at $23,369,160.40. This trade represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total transaction of $2,011,035.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 220,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,148.65. The trade was a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,461 shares of company stock worth $3,012,016 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan 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.