StockNews.com Lowers Kirby (NYSE:KEX) to Hold

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Separately, Bank of America increased their price target on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $124.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Kirby has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $130.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $118.51 and its 200-day moving average is $112.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,932,197. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 630,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,471,000 after acquiring an additional 68,420 shares during the period. Scout Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Kirby by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 43,465 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Kirby by 166.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 6,832 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Kirby by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after purchasing an additional 157,880 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Kirby by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,371,000 after purchasing an additional 16,373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.