Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Up 5.4% in June

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 922,200 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the May 31st total of 874,700 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 509,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 7,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.50, for a total value of $961,992.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,806 shares of company stock worth $3,945,225 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Kirby by 56.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 253.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 375 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Kirby by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $121.58 on Friday. Kirby has a 52 week low of $72.11 and a 52 week high of $124.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.81.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.49 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 8.01%. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Kirby in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.20.

Kirby Company Profile

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.