Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $668,131.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,596 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,760. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,371,000 after acquiring an additional 16,373 shares during the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 43,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at about $22,877,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $128.49 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.53. The firm has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $132.04.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.