Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Kirby Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with six buy ratings and one hold rating. The average 1-year price target is $162.20.
• The company recently delivered a solid quarterly update, posting $1.50 EPS versus estimates of $1.41 and $844.1 million in revenue, both above expectations. Revenue also rose 7.4% year over year.
• Insider and institutional activity has been active, with several executives selling shares while hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 96.15% of the stock. Kirby’s shares were trading near $143.75, below the average analyst target but close to the stock’s recent highs.

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One 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 analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.20.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $581,720.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 10,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,572,680.02. This represents a 27.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total transaction of $250,287.26. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. This trade represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. 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. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,422,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Kirby by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,617,100 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $178,172,000 after acquiring an additional 47,099 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $8,772,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 262,044 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $21,868,000 after acquiring an additional 63,185 shares during the period. Finally, Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 87,444 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $9,635,000 after acquiring an additional 22,013 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $143.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Kirby has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $157.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $141.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.43.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%.Kirby's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal 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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