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

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 $146.20.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 beating estimates and revenue of $844.1 million topping expectations. Revenue also rose 7.4% year over year.
• Recent insider selling included stock sales by COO Christian G. O'neil and VP William Matthew Woodruff, while institutional ownership remains high at 96.15%. Several large investors also increased their Kirby holdings in recent quarters.

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $146.20.

KEX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Christian G. O'neil sold 11,287 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,326.33. The trade was a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KEX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 30.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 491,355 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $49,632,000 after acquiring an additional 114,618 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 152.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 182,565 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $18,441,000 after acquiring an additional 110,320 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 68.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,096 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 8,174 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Kirby by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 96,565 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,951,000 after buying an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 52,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 2,080 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $137.98 on Wednesday. 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 capitalization of $7.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.19. Kirby has a 12 month low of $79.51 and a 12 month high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $844.10 million during 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kirby will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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