Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Hits New 52-Week High at $115.82

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $115.82 and last traded at $115.73, with a volume of 53175 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $113.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, April 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Up 0.8 %

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 company has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.61.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.49 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 66,399 shares in the company, valued at $5,673,130.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.44, for a total value of $1,537,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 66,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,673,130.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Dorman Lynn Strahan sold 3,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.11, for a total transaction of $325,561.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,445.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,179 shares of company stock worth $3,968,537 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 28.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,369 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 26,157 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Kirby by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 74,214 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kirby

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.