Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KEX. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Kirby from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $207,357.09. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,670,071.04. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 29,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total transaction of $3,163,331.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,561,543.69. The trade was a 26.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,147 shares of company stock worth $6,204,544. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KEX. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 19.0% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 292,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,519,000 after purchasing an additional 46,673 shares during the last quarter. Luminus Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kirby by 292.0% during the 3rd quarter. Luminus Management LLC now owns 116,956 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,760,000 after buying an additional 87,120 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $692,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in Kirby by 72.7% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 5,700 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 64.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after acquiring an additional 19,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $111.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Kirby has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $122.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.86 and a 200 day moving average of $102.13.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $843.29 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 9.22%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.