Bank of America Boosts Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target to $182.00

Key Points

• Bank of America raised Kirby’s price target from $169 to $182 and kept a buy rating, implying about 35.8% upside from the prior close.
• Kirby’s recent earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.50 EPS versus the $1.41 consensus and $844.1 million in revenue, while revenue rose 7.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and two a Hold, with a consensus price target of $161.20.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $169.00 to $182.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the shipping company's stock. Bank of America's target price suggests a potential upside of 35.79% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on KEX. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kirby from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.20.

Kirby Stock Up 0.8%

KEX stock opened at $134.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.98 and a 200-day moving average of $132.81. Kirby has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $157.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.83. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kirby will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,673 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,257,671.73. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O'neil sold 11,287 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 34.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 890 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in Kirby by 824.5% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Kirby in the 1st quarter worth $281,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Kirby by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 5,023 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter worth about $2,798,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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