Insider Selling: Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) VP Sells $409,687.50 in Stock

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.25, for a total transaction of $409,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,804.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $110.52 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $95.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.14. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $69.22 and a twelve month high of $114.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 8.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Kirby in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price objective for the company. 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 target price of $116.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 38,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $205,954,000 after buying an additional 62,378 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 30.9% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.