Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $118.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Kirby traded as high as $101.30 and last traded at $100.55, with a volume of 693580 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $95.81.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.00.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total value of $145,508.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, insider Christian G. O'neil sold 8,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total transaction of $765,839.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $79,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,213,354 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $348,866,000 after purchasing an additional 38,664 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $205,954,000 after purchasing an additional 62,378 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 30.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $173,886,000 after purchasing an additional 495,541 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $143,521,000 after purchasing an additional 63,611 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Up 3.5 %

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $91.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.97. The company has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.