Brokerages Set Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Target Price at $123.80

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 22nd.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kirby news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $668,131.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 2,770 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.21, for a total value of $305,281.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 16,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,066.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,012 shares of company stock worth $5,571,267. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Up 2.0 %

Kirby stock opened at $125.33 on Wednesday. Kirby has a fifty-two week low of $72.11 and a fifty-two week high of $130.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.48 and its 200-day moving average is $113.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $824.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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.