166,254 Shares in Kirby Corporation $KEX Acquired by SummitTX Capital L.P.

SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 166,254 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,092,000. Kirby accounts for approximately 0.7% of SummitTX Capital L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 537.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 182.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of KEX opened at $148.48 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The firm had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $581,720.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,680.02. This represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.20.

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.