Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Given New $118.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $100.00 to $118.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 23.82% from the stock’s previous close.

KEX has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 149,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,875. Kirby has a one year low of $66.42 and a one year high of $101.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.70 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,126.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KEX. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter worth $47,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.