Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Short Interest Update

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 922,200 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the May 31st total of 874,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 509,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $121.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Kirby has a 12-month low of $72.11 and a 12-month high of $124.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The business had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kirby will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,806 shares of company stock valued at $3,945,225 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 355.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 47,027 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 36,698 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 54.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 169,452 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $14,031,000 after purchasing an additional 59,622 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 7.1% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 7,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,814 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 26,157 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $123.20.

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.