Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target Raised to $141.00 at Bank of America

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its price objective upped by Bank of America from $138.00 to $141.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Kirby Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE KEX opened at $119.45 on Tuesday. Kirby has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $130.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.28.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 7.96%. The business had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total transaction of $409,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 941 shares in the company, valued at $102,804.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total transaction of $409,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 941 shares in the company, valued at $102,804.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $360,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,627,533.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,319 shares of company stock worth $3,896,633 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the second quarter worth about $1,139,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Kirby by 237.0% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 81,782 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,792,000 after purchasing an additional 57,512 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Kirby by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 463,275 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $55,468,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the second quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Kirby by 1.2% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 67,781 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $8,115,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in 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.