Kirby (KEX) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Kirby Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a leading domestic tank barge operator and diesel engine distributor in the United States. Since its founding in 1921, the company has built one of the nation’s largest inland tank barge fleets, providing safe and reliable transportation of various liquid cargoes, including petrochemicals, agricultural chemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied gases. Its Marine Transportation segment offers towboat and tank barge services along the inland waterways of the Mississippi River system, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico and select offshore locations.

In addition to its core marine transportation business, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment supplies a broad range of new and remanufactured diesel engines, transmissions, pumps, compressors and accessories, along with parts support and maintenance services. Through an extensive network of service centers and regional distribution hubs, the company supports customers in the oil and gas, construction, power generation, agriculture, marine and government sectors, offering both standard and custom-engineered solutions.

Kirby’s fleet includes Jones Act-compliant tank barges and towboats designed for safe handling of non-hazardous and hazardous liquid products. The Distribution and Services segment represents leading engine manufacturers, providing original equipment, aftermarket components, diagnostic services and field support. By integrating logistics, maintenance and supply chain expertise, Kirby delivers turnkey solutions that help customers optimize uptime, reduce operating costs and comply with evolving environmental regulations.

Over its century-long history, Kirby has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion, evolving from a regional towing operation into a diversified transportation and distribution enterprise. The company’s leadership team is headed by President and Chief Executive Officer David H. Grzebinski, with Joseph H. Pyne serving as Executive Chairman of the Board. Kirby continues to focus on safety, environmental stewardship and operational excellence as it serves customers across the continental United States, the Gulf Coast, Caribbean and parts of Mexico.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $114.15 to $116.65
• 50-Day Range: $107.24 to $117.45
• 52-Week Range: $83.94 to $132.21
• Volume: 759,674 shs
• Average Volume: 545,189 shs
• Market Capitalization: $6.49 billion
• P/E Ratio: 22.92
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $130.00
• Consensus Rating: Buy

Kirby Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Kirby scored higher than 61% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 71st out of 124 stocks in the transportation sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

Kirby has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on 2 buy ratings, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Kirby has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 18.57%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Kirby are expected to grow by 18.57% in the coming year, from $6.57 to $7.79 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Kirby is 22.92, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 26.51.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Kirby is 22.92, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Transportation sector average P/E ratio of about 12.86.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Kirby has a PEG Ratio of 1.02. PEG Ratios around 1 indicate that a company is correctly valued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Kirby has a P/B Ratio of 1.98. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.38% of the float of Kirby has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Kirby has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.5.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Kirby has recently increased by 10.41%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

Kirby does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

Kirby does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.38% of the float of Kirby has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Kirby has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.5.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Kirby has recently increased by 10.41%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.48

News Sentiment

Kirby has a news sentiment score of 0.48. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.82 average news sentiment score of Transportation companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 17 news articles for Kirby this week, compared to 13 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

2 people have searched for KEX on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 100% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Kirby insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.90% of the stock of Kirby is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

96.15% of the stock of Kirby is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

KEX Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have KEX shares performed this year?

Kirby's stock was trading at $105.80 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, KEX stock has increased by 9.4% and is now trading at $115.74.

How were Kirby's earnings last quarter?

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) released its earnings results on Thursday, May, 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Kirby's major shareholders?

Kirby's top institutional investors include Assenagon Asset Management S.A. (0.22%), Covea Finance (0.07%), Fruth Investment Management (0.03%) and Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC (0.02%). Insiders that own company stock include William M Waterman, David W Grzebinski, Richard J Alario, Dorman Lynn Strahan, Richard Ross Stewart, Christian G O'neil, Ronald A Dragg, Scott P Miller, Amy D Husted, Rocky Dewbre, William Matthew Woodruff and Kurt A Niemietz.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Kirby?

Shares of KEX stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Kirby own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Kirby investors own include American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), The RMR Group (RMR), Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) and AU Optronics (AUOTY).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/01/2025
• Today: 7/18/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/31/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Transportation
• Industry: TRANS - SHIP
• Sub-Industry: Marine
• Current Symbol: NYSE:KEX
• CIK: 56047
• Web: www.kirbycorp.com
• Phone: (713) 435-1000
• Fax: 713-435-1010
• Employees: 5,414
• Year Founded: 1921

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Kirby: $130.00
• High Price Target: $135.00
• Low Price Target: $125.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +12.3%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.00
• Research Coverage: 2 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $5.05
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 22.92
• Forward P/E Ratio: 17.62
• P/E Growth: 1.04
• Net Income: $286.71 million
• Net Margins: 9.02%
• Pretax Margin: 11.45%
• Return on Equity: 9.81%
• Return on Assets: 5.50%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.33
• Current Ratio: 1.58
• Quick Ratio: 0.96

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $3.27 billion
• Price / Sales: 1.99
• Cash Flow: $11.56 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 10.01
• Book Value: $58.42 per share
• Price / Book: 1.98

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 56,100,000
• Free Float: 55,595,000
• Market Cap: $6.49 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.96