Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $122.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Kirby has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $130.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.64.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total value of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total transaction of $1,729,881.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,454.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,571,267 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Kirby by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 384,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,142,000 after buying an additional 1,360 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $478,549,000 after acquiring an additional 81,808 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 21.4% during the first 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 last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Kirby by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,559 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 2.5% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 222,523 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,211,000 after purchasing an additional 5,526 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kirby

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.