Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway on Tuesday disclosed a new investment in pipeline operator Kinder Morgan (KMI), boosting its bet on the oil industry as crude prices hover near 12-year lows.
Berkshire owned about 26.53 million Kinder Morgan shares worth roughly $395.9 million at year end, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing detailing $127.4 billion of U.S.-listed stock investments by Berkshire.
Shares of Kinder Morgan rallied in after-hours trading, rising 99 cents, or 6.3%, to $16.61. They had closed up 66 cents at $15.62 in regular trading.
Kinder Morgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is unclear whether Buffett or one of his portfolio managers, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, invested in Kinder Morgan, though smaller investments of this nature are often not Buffett’s.
Nonetheless, investors often view such disclosures as a signal of where Buffett and his deputies see value.
“KMI has many of the qualities Buffett looks for in his investments, including stable, fee-based assets which generate significant amounts of cash flow,” Morningstar Inc analyst Peggy Connerty said in an email, referring to Kinder Morgan’s ticker.
Berkshire has also been boosting its stake in oil refiner Phillips 66. As of Friday, it had spent about $1.08 billion this year on Phillips 66 stock, giving it a 14.3 percent stake in that company.
Kinder Morgan and Phillips 66 are based in Houston.
