Insider Selling: Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Sells 14,031 Shares of Stock

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total transaction of $1,729,881.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,454.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX traded up $4.22 on Thursday, reaching $127.28. 178,021 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 456,336. The stock has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $130.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $118.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 29,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,792,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.