Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 15,700 Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Kirby Corp., buying 15,700 shares worth about $2.09 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership in Kirby remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 96.15% of the stock. Several large investors, including Goldman Sachs and First Trust Advisors, also increased their stakes recently.
• Kirby reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 versus estimates of $1.41 and revenue of $844.1 million, and it issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 6.650 to 7.280.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 15,700 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $287,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,700 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Kirby by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,508 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $273,745,000 after purchasing an additional 93,676 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Kirby by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Kirby by 109.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $248,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 10.8% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $245,638,000 after purchasing an additional 211,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,671.73. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,326.33. The trade was 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 90 days, insiders sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KEX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.20.

Kirby Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $135.82 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $143.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 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 quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior 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 EPS for the current year.

About Kirby

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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