Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Lifted 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 issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Kirby Stock Down 0.2 %

Kirby stock opened at $94.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Kirby has a 1-year low of $66.42 and a 1-year high of $101.17. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.70 million. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total value of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total transaction of $119,652.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,926.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $498,118,000 after purchasing an additional 64,420 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Kirby by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 161,143 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,647,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after buying an additional 14,201 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 738,377 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,947,000 after acquiring an additional 24,040 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 10,891 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 6,828 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.