Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $118.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Kirby traded as high as $101.30 and last traded at $100.55, with a volume of 693580 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.81.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on KEX. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $116.00.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total transaction of $593,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Kirby by 28.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Kirby during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Up 2.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.24. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.62 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.70 million. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

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.