Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. This represents a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,637,043.54. This represents a 29.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,596 shares of company stock worth $8,541,440. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KEX. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $204,154,000 after acquiring an additional 12,337 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $106,246,000 after purchasing an additional 224,802 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 5.7% during the second quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 812,283 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $97,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kirby by 27.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 699,052 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,585,000 after purchasing an additional 152,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $117.51 on Monday. Kirby has a twelve month low of $74.88 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.