Kinder Morgan: Lower On Bearish Talk, Chair Buys 100,000 Shares

Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI) traded lower Friday after Barron's drew attention to an investment researcher's recent Tumblr post suggesting "the shares will collapse."

A Lot Going On In The Kinderverse

The Houston-based energy infrastructure company traded recently at 39.05, down nearly 2 percent.

Separately, Kinder Morgan said its chairman acquired 100,000 shares on Friday at about $39 a share.

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As of earlier this year, Chairman Richard Kinder owned about 244.8 million shares, or roughly an 11 percent stake in Kinder Morgan.

Also on Friday, the company said its board authorized the buyback of up to $100 million of warrants to to purchase Class P shares, which are its common stock.

Chatter

"Kinder Morgan may turn into one of the worst-performing companies this year," according to Valuentum Securities President Brian Nelson, whose Tumblr comments got highlighted late Thursday by Barron's.

Nelson called the company's debt load "downright scary" and said its plans for dividend growth are at risk.

Moreover, a reorganization last year that abandoned its master limited partnership structure has caused marketplace confusion in evaluating the stock, according to Nelson.

"The company is heading for a big fall, and we're out," Nelson wrote, saying Valuentum had exited its position at $40 a share.

Image Credit: Public Domain