Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $622,000 in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 4,575 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 2,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 537.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 182.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 18.2% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.20.

Kirby Trading Down 0.6%

Kirby stock opened at $139.02 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $79.51 and a 12 month high of $157.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $870.38 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.18%.Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.