Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Up 2.1 %

KEX stock opened at $122.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $118.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.59. Kirby has a 52 week low of $72.11 and a 52 week high of $130.90.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,066.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,128 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,296 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Kirby by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Kirby by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,247 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 40,764 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,781,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Kirby by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,782 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $846,000 after buying an additional 4,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

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.