Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Receives $123.80 Average PT from Brokerages

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.80.

KEX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 77,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,853,455.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 7,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.50, for a total transaction of $961,992.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Waterman sold 10,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.51, for a total value of $1,145,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 77,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,853,455.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,623 shares of company stock valued at $3,256,029 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 630,360 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,471,000 after buying an additional 68,420 shares during the last quarter. Scout Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 66.5% in the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 108,814 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after buying an additional 43,465 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 166.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 10,934 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 6,832 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after buying an additional 157,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 66,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,371,000 after buying an additional 16,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock opened at $116.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $119.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.31. Kirby has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $130.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 8.72%. The firm had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.65 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.