Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday morning.

Separately, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $123.80.

Kirby Stock Performance

Kirby stock opened at $123.45 on Friday. Kirby has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $130.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.93.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.65 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total transaction of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,066.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,521,000 after buying an additional 63,611 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kirby by 4.1% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $133,624,000 after buying an additional 54,755 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 10.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,086,000 after acquiring an additional 90,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Kirby by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,432,000 after acquiring an additional 157,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.