Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives $123.40 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.40.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KEX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Kirby from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $207,357.09. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,670,071.04. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 10,413 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.42, for a total value of $1,118,564.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 11,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,259.20. This trade represents a 46.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,002 shares of company stock worth $4,959,871. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Kirby by 15.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,246 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 949 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in shares of Kirby by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 18,116 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Kirby by 45.8% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 68,377 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,907,000 after acquiring an additional 21,480 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter worth $1,131,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $112.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.30. Kirby has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $122.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.88.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $871.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.29 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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.