Analysts Set Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) PT at $123.80

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.80.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $129.30 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.99 and a 200-day moving average of $120.14. Kirby has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In related news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 26,358 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.46, for a total transaction of $3,175,084.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,637,043.54. The trade was a 29.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,596 shares of company stock worth $7,515,760 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kirby by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kirby

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.