14,762 Shares in Kirby Corporation $KEX Bought by OP Asset Management Ltd

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 14,762 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 30.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 491,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,632,000 after purchasing an additional 114,618 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Kirby by 152.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 182,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,441,000 after buying an additional 110,320 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 68.6% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after buying an additional 8,174 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Kirby by 3.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 96,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,951,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 52,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.20.

Kirby Stock Down 0.0%

KEX stock opened at $136.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $79.51 and a 12 month high of $157.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.72.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total value of $1,647,111.91. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Kirby

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.