Kirby Corporation $KEX Stock Position Lifted by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 92.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,251,700 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $287,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,982,000 after purchasing an additional 134,261 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 10.8% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $245,638,000 after purchasing an additional 211,231 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,617,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $178,172,000 after purchasing an additional 47,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 108.4% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 839,662 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $70,070,000 after purchasing an additional 436,735 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $141.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.48. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $157.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total value of $581,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 10,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,680.02. This trade represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research raised 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. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned 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.