Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Receives $123.80 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

KEX has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Kirby Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of KEX opened at $128.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $122.45 and a 200 day moving average of $119.73. Kirby has a fifty-two week low of $72.11 and a fifty-two week high of $132.04. The firm has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. The trade was a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,596 shares of company stock worth $7,515,760. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.