Kirby (NYSE:KEX) PT Raised to $118.00

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $100.00 to $118.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 23.82% from the stock’s current price.

KEX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.30. The company had a trading volume of 149,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 382,875. Kirby has a 12-month low of $66.42 and a 12-month high of $101.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $91.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,126.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of Kirby 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Kirby during the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently 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.