Kirby (NYSE:KEX) VP William Matthew Woodruff Sells 678 Shares

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE KEX traded up $0.90 during trading on Monday, reaching $146.60. The company had a trading volume of 493,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,525. The business’s 50-day moving average is $138.56 and its 200 day moving average is $124.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $472,982,000 after purchasing an additional 134,261 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 5.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $347,829,000 after buying an additional 133,030 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $287,803,000 after buying an additional 1,251,700 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Kirby by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after buying an additional 959,209 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Kirby by 109.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $248,640,000 after buying an additional 1,178,963 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.