Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Given New $138.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $131.00 to $138.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an outperform rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $123.20.

Kirby Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $118.73 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.78. Kirby has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $124.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 2,228 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $204,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,148. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 2,228 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $204,976.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,148. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 7,853 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.50, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,162 shares of company stock valued at $4,752,143. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Kirby by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 28.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.