BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Acquires Shares of 16,850 Kirby Corporation $KEX

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,850 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,857,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 2,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Kirby by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 739 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $143.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Kirby Corporation has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.20.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.