Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Reaches New 52-Week High at $94.55

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $94.55 and last traded at $94.50, with a volume of 204391 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.47.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KEX. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

Kirby Trading Down 0.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $85.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The company had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total value of $119,652.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total value of $119,652.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,803 shares of company stock worth $3,921,057 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at $392,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 38,864 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 9,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 164,306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $11,861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by 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.