Castleark Management LLC Invests $806,000 in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,930 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth about $733,274,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kirby by 92.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,251,700 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $248,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,963 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 72.5% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,355,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kirby presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.20.

Kirby Stock Up 1.2%

KEX stock opened at $139.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.68. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $157.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.75.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.18%.The company had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Kirby’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

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.