Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $136.00 to $135.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.40.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $109.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Kirby has a fifty-two week low of $78.63 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $111.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.71.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. This trade represents a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 82,578 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,737,000 after purchasing an additional 9,562 shares during the period. Hourglass Capital LLC increased its position in Kirby by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Hourglass Capital LLC now owns 44,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,442,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,234 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Kirby by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,143,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.