Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Kirby has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from seven analysts, with six buys and one hold; the average 12-month price target is $163.20 versus a recent price of $133.30.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.67 in EPS and $922.4 million in revenue, while revenue increased 7.8% year over year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 96.15% of Kirby’s shares, with several funds increasing their positions during the second quarter.

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.20.

Several research analysts have recently commented on KEX shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price target 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. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,679 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Kirby by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,734 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $367,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 422.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 23,931 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,254,000 after buying an additional 19,348 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the second quarter worth about $216,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $133.30 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $136.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.53. Kirby has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.38 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 10.18%.Kirby's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby will post 7.11 earnings per share for the current year.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a marine transportation and engine-services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1921, the company operates primarily in the United States and is one of the largest domestic operators of tank barges.

Through its marine transportation business, Kirby transports bulk liquid products on the nation's inland waterway system and along the U.S. coast. Its cargoes include refined petroleum products, petrochemicals, black oil, agricultural chemicals and other specialty liquids.

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