Norges Bank Buys Shares of 738,379 Kirby Corporation $KEX

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 738,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,355,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,982,000 after buying an additional 134,261 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after buying an additional 959,209 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $245,638,000 after buying an additional 211,231 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,617,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $178,172,000 after buying an additional 47,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 108.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 839,662 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $70,070,000 after buying an additional 436,735 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $141.09 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $157.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.14 and its 200 day moving average is $128.48. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.59.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup raised their price target 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 raised 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 9 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby 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.