Kirby Corporation $KEX Position Increased by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,966 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,694 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.05% of Kirby worth $3,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 537.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Kirby by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Kirby by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.20.

Kirby Stock Up 0.8%

Kirby stock opened at $138.65 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $157.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $138.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.72. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $870.38 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Kirby

Here are the key news stories impacting Kirby this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its 2026 EPS forecast to $7.07 from $6.97 and increased its Q3 and Q4 2026 estimates to $1.96 and $1.94, respectively. Both quarterly forecasts were raised by $0.06 and $0.03.
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term expectations also improved: FY2027 EPS was lifted to $8.57 from $8.27, while FY2028 EPS increased to $9.20 from $9.05. Zacks also raised estimates for Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, Q1 2028 and Q2 2028.
• Positive Sentiment: The largest quarterly increase was for Q3 2027, raised to $2.41 from $2.30. Q2 2028 EPS was increased to $2.35 from $2.17, and Q4 2027 to $2.23 from $2.16.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ FY2026 forecast of $7.07 remains below the broader analyst consensus of $7.28, although the company recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations and reported 7.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

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.