Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Kirby (NYSE:KEX)

Investment analysts at Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.60% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KEX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $101.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby has a 12-month low of $66.42 and a 12-month high of $102.55. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.24.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The business had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kirby will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total transaction of $765,839.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 value of $119,652.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total transaction of $765,839.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,126.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Kirby by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,213,354 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $348,866,000 after buying an additional 38,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $205,954,000 after buying an additional 62,378 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 30.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,886,000 after buying an additional 495,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,521,000 after acquiring an additional 63,611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.