Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.20.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 537.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Kirby by 488.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 477 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $139.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Kirby has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $157.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.04.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.18%.The firm had revenue of $922.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.38 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kirby will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a marine transportation and industrial services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its marine transportation operations, the company moves bulk liquid products, including petroleum products, chemicals, and agricultural commodities, primarily in the United States.

Kirby operates one of the largest fleets of inland and coastal tank barges in the United States. Its marine transportation network serves the Mississippi River System, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Gulf of Mexico, and other U.S.