Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.80.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $105.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby has a 1-year low of $74.88 and a 1-year high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,955,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total value of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,985,716.48. This trade represents a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,462 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,526,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,668 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its position in Kirby by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.