Insider Selling: Kirby (NYSE:KEX) CEO Sells 34,152 Shares of Stock

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) CEO David Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total transaction of $4,441,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 98,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,776,242.05. The trade was a 25.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kirby Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of KEX traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $129.55. The company had a trading volume of 78,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 783,739. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.88. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $132.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KEX. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its holdings in Kirby by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 25,638 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 9,868 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Kirby by 136.9% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,591 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 15,945 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,932,146 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $212,884,000 after buying an additional 178,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.