Legal & General Group Plc Has $6.43 Million Stock Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Kirby Corporation stake by 29% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 58,399 shares valued at about $6.43 million. Institutional investors still own the vast majority of the stock, at 96.15%.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Kirby, with six Buy ratings and one Hold rating, resulting in a Moderate Buy consensus and a $146.20 average price target. Recent changes included a downgrade by Wall Street Zen and upgrades from BTIG Research and Weiss Ratings.
• Kirby reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.50 EPS on revenue of $844.1 million, both above estimates. The company also raised FY2026 guidance to 6.65–7.28 EPS.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,399 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 23,863 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.11% of Kirby worth $6,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 932 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 739 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,003 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total transaction of $250,287.26. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock opened at $141.09 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $143.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

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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