State of Wyoming Invests $458,000 in Kirby Corporation $KEX

State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,446 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Kirby by 5.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $347,829,000 after purchasing an additional 133,030 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 92.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $287,803,000 after buying an additional 1,251,700 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after buying an additional 959,209 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 109.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $248,640,000 after buying an additional 1,178,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 211,231 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on KEX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Kirby from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.20.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total value of $1,647,111.91. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $148.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.52 and a 200-day moving average of $135.73. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby 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.