Brokerages Set Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) PT at $123.40

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.40.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Kirby from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th.

Kirby Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $112.04 on Friday. Kirby has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $122.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $843.29 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, VP Kurt A. Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total value of $171,180.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,326.96. This trade represents a 61.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,715 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total value of $299,437.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,744.25. This trade represents a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 46,002 shares of company stock worth $4,959,871 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $360,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Kirby by 170.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 91,437 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,630,000 after purchasing an additional 57,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 14,267 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 3,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.