Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $126.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on KEX. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $99.14 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Kirby has a 12 month low of $66.42 and a 12 month high of $101.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $91.51 and a 200-day moving average of $83.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The company had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kirby will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $593,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total transaction of $593,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $478,549,000 after buying an additional 81,808 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Kirby by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,213,354 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $348,866,000 after acquiring an additional 38,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Kirby by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $205,954,000 after acquiring an additional 62,378 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Kirby by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $173,886,000 after acquiring an additional 495,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Kirby by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,521,000 after acquiring an additional 63,611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.