William Matthew Woodruff Sells 678 Shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Stock

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Kirby Trading Up 0.0%

KEX opened at $146.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $79.51 and a 12 month high of $157.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.28.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,422,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 239.4% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 11,118 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,665 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,727,000 after acquiring an additional 16,772 shares in the last quarter. Hound Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,085,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 9.1% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 807,204 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $67,361,000 after acquiring an additional 67,117 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.20.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.