Buffett invests in Kinder Morgan

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Kinder Morgan (KMI - Get Report) stock is surging 11.40% to $17.40 this morning after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) purchased 26.5 million shares valued at $395.9 million during the previous quarter, Bloomberg reports.

Shares of Kinder Morgan have plunged about 63% during the past 12 months as oil prices have tumbled. The company slashed its dividend in December and has indicated that it might sell assets to raise cash.

"It strikes me as a business that's right up his alley," Jeff Matthews, an investor and author of Buffett-related books, told Bloomberg. "It's a business that's going to last for a long time." And the stock has "gotten crushed," creating an opportunity to buy at a lower price.

Buffett sees real value in Kinder Morgan, TheStreet's Jim Cramer said on CNBC's Squawk on the Street this morning, explaining that Kinder Morgan's potential stems from a need for more natural gas pipelines.

He added that shares are now trading at or above where they were when the company slashed its dividend, which is significant because shareholders had assumed that the company was "finished" after the dividend cut.

Although Buffett doesn't comment on his purchases, investors will likely assume he's calling a bottom on oil and natural gas, Cramer noted.

If oil and natural gas prices do in fact rebound, Kinder Morgan could once again raise its dividend. "This will be interesting," Cramer said.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/1346...y-stake.html?puc=TSMKTWATCH&cm_ven=TSMKTWATCH

Well well, poss - didn't you mention yesterday about the Sage of Omaha. Cramer's comment above "Investors will likely assume he's calling a bottom on oil and gas" reminds me of the $10bn investment in Goldman Sachs during the GFC. Smart indeed.

Buy in doom, sell in boom!