Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 43,097 Kirby Corporation $KEX

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 43,097 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,860,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.08% of Kirby at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 2,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 537.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 182.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 18.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $143.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $138.66 and its 200 day moving average is $138.55. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $157.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.18%.The firm had revenue of $922.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.20.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.