Stifel Nicolaus Raises Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target to $132.00

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its price target raised by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $131.00 to $132.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 8.06% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on KEX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research boosted their target price 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, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $119.50.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $122.16 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $102.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.95. Kirby has a 1-year low of $71.21 and a 1-year high of $123.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.14.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $808.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 7.96%. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 1,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $146,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,296. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $146,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,296. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.60, for a total transaction of $74,089.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,574,284.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,649 shares of company stock valued at $3,604,686. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 398 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.