Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for Kirby

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Kirby in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the shipping company will post earnings of $1.75 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.74. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Kirby’s current full-year earnings is $6.57 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Kirby’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.89 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.77 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.81 EPS and Q4 2027 earnings at $2.15 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $138.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.60.

Kirby Stock Up 2.9%

NYSE KEX opened at $127.97 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $126.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.83. Kirby has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $134.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,487,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its position in Kirby by 62.6% in 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 buying an additional 9,868 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 136.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,591 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 15,945 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total value of $1,493,721.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,493,721.58. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 11,667 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total value of $1,508,893.11. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,894.62. The trade was a 44.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 82,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,470,847 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kirby News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Kirby this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised FY2027 EPS to $8.04 (from $8.00), signaling a modest improvement in longer‑term profit expectations that can support higher valuation. This is one of the clearest upward revisions in the set of notes.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also nudged FY2026 EPS to $6.77 (from $6.75) and lifted several quarter-level forecasts (Q3 2026 to $1.75, Q4 2026 to $1.89), which collectively point to a slightly stronger near‑to‑midterm earnings trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly raises for 2027 (Q2 and Q3 2027 to $2.04 each, up from $2.00/$2.01) further reinforce the view of improving earnings later in the forecast horizon.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks kept a “Hold” rating on KEX across these notes, indicating analysts did not change their recommendation despite the estimate tweaks — this limits the potential for a major rating-driven re‑pricing.
• Negative Sentiment: There were small downward tweaks to near‑term quarters: Q1 2026 EPS cut to $1.41 (from $1.42), Q1 2027 to $1.81 (from $1.84), and Q4 2027 trimmed to $2.15 (from $2.16). These cuts are minor but temper immediate upside expectations.

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.