Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Shares Gap Up to $101.05

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $101.05, but opened at $104.15. Kirby shares last traded at $109.19, with a volume of 173,414 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Kirby in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Kirby Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.37. 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 (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $799.18 million during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total transaction of $593,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total transaction of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,126.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $593,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,824,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $51,781,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,886,000 after acquiring an additional 495,541 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Kirby by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,432,000 after acquiring an additional 157,880 shares during the period. Finally, RK Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,412,000. Institutional investors 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.