William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $20.21 Million in Kirby Corporation $KEX

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 148,613 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,207,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.28% of Kirby as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC grew 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $140.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.84. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $157.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $138.60 and its 200 day moving average is $137.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on KEX. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.20.

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.