Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Shares Gap Up to $101.05

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $101.05, but opened at $104.15. Kirby shares last traded at $109.19, with a volume of 173,414 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Kirby in a report on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Up 11.0 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 6,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.05, for a total transaction of $637,310.25. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $95,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KEX. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Kirby by 28.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Kirby in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.