Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Kirby (NYSE:KEX)

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $126.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $101.05 on Monday. Kirby has a one year low of $66.42 and a one year high of $102.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Kirby will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,126.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $478,549,000 after acquiring an additional 81,808 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,213,354 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $348,866,000 after acquiring an additional 38,664 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $205,954,000 after acquiring an additional 62,378 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 30.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,886,000 after acquiring an additional 495,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,521,000 after acquiring an additional 63,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.