Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Bought by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 246.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 221,757 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 157,735 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $29,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at about $458,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Kirby by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,145 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $218,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $347,829,000 after purchasing an additional 133,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.3% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 758,029 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $100,727,000 after buying an additional 24,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction 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 represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,671.73. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $145.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.04. 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. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $832.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. 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 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.20.

Kirby Profile

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.