Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Sets New 1-Year High at $115.82

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $115.82 and last traded at $115.73, with a volume of 53175 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $113.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Kirby Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $96.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 8.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,673,130.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 676 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total value of $74,089.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,574,284.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,609 shares of company stock valued at $3,792,258. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kirby by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $498,118,000 after buying an additional 64,420 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after purchasing an additional 14,201 shares during the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP grew its stake in Kirby by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 161,143 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,647,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $1,337,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 24,040 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.