Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Separately, Bank of America raised their price target on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $123.80.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $124.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $118.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.35. Kirby has a one year low of $72.11 and a one year high of $130.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total value of $360,930.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,012 shares of company stock valued at $5,932,197. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $61,824,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $51,781,000. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in Kirby during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,928,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the 1st quarter valued at $22,877,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 224,802 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.