Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on KEX. BTIG Research raised their target price on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock opened at $96.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby has a 1 year low of $66.42 and a 1 year high of $101.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.58.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total transaction of $1,537,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares in the company, valued at $5,673,130.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Kirby in the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.