Insider Selling: Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Sells 2,770 Shares of Stock

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,066.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX traded up $3.17 on Tuesday, hitting $110.74. 647,100 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,587. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.54. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $72.11 and a twelve month high of $130.90. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 8.72%. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kirby from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at about $61,824,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,781,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby during the first quarter valued at approximately $22,877,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 21.4% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after buying an additional 157,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the second quarter worth approximately $14,185,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.