Strs Ohio Purchases 56,653 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 4,237.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,990 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,653 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Kirby were worth $7,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $287,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,700 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,508 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $273,745,000 after purchasing an additional 93,676 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 109.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $248,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 10.8% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $245,638,000 after purchasing an additional 211,231 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $129.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.47. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $832.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. Analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total transaction of $250,287.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,671.73. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.