Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives $130.50 Average PT from Analysts

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $130.50.

Several brokerages have issued reports on KEX. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Kirby from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kirby from $131.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,715 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total transaction of $299,437.35. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,744.25. This represents a 20.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total value of $207,357.09. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,670,071.04. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 57,147 shares of company stock valued at $6,204,544 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $472,982,000 after acquiring an additional 134,261 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Kirby by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its position in Kirby by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $245,638,000 after purchasing an additional 211,231 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 8.5% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,570,001 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $131,017,000 after purchasing an additional 122,733 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 32.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,225,338 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $138,966,000 after buying an additional 299,981 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $128.53 on Friday. Kirby has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $132.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.38.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $871.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.29 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.