Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target Raised to $170.00

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its target price increased by stock analysts at BTIG Research from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.49% from the stock’s previous close.

KEX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.20.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX traded down $4.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $148.49. The company had a trading volume of 574,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,815. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $135.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.11. Kirby has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.12 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kirby will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $398,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,353.80. This trade represents a 40.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total value of $1,493,721.58. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,493,721.58. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $9,226,173 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 2,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 537.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Company Profile

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.