Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) VP Amy D. Husted Sells 2,853 Shares

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $124.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $118.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.18. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $72.11 and a 1-year high of $130.90.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.65 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of KEX. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth $61,824,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $51,781,000. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth $65,928,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter worth $22,877,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $106,246,000 after purchasing an additional 224,802 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.80.

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.