Insider Selling: Kirby (NYSE:KEX) CEO Sells 18,310 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Kirby CEO David Grzebinski sold 18,310 shares for about $2.59 million at an average price of $141.32, reducing his stake by 18.64% to 79,931 shares.
• Kirby beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.09 versus $2.00 expected and revenue of $977.21 million versus $938.84 million expected; revenue rose 12.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average price target of $171.43. The stock traded at $127.73 in the article’s reported session.

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) CEO David Grzebinski sold 18,310 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.32, for a total value of $2,587,569.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,295,848.92. The trade was a 18.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock traded down $13.09 on Wednesday, hitting $127.73. The company had a trading volume of 376,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 638,778. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.10 and a twelve month high of $157.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $137.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.77.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The shipping company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $977.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.84 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 10.39%. Kirby's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KEX. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 182.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Kirby by 488.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 477 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.43.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a Houston-based marine transportation and industrial services company. Through its marine transportation operations, the company is the largest tank barge operator in the United States, transporting bulk liquid products on the nation's inland and coastal waterways.

Kirby's marine transportation business carries petrochemicals, refined petroleum products, black oil, agricultural chemicals and other bulk liquids for industrial customers. Its operations primarily serve the U.S.

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