Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Christian G. O’neil Sells 14,031 Shares

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,454.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Kirby Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $127.03 on Friday. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $130.90. The stock has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 0.71 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. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.77.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Kirby by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 630,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,471,000 after purchasing an additional 68,420 shares during the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,299,000 after buying an additional 43,465 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 166.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 6,832 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $85,432,000 after buying an additional 157,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Kirby by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,371,000 after acquiring an additional 16,373 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

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.