Analysts Set Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) PT at $123.80

Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

KEX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Kirby Stock Up 1.1 %

Kirby stock traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $129.95. 333,062 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 457,652. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby has a 52-week low of $72.11 and a 52-week high of $132.04. The business's 50-day moving average price is $121.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.53.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $831.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.42 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 9.37%. Kirby's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kirby will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total transaction of $361,018.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O'neil sold 15,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,596 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,760 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,928,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the first quarter valued at about $22,877,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 33.9% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 887,384 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $106,246,000 after purchasing an additional 224,802 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kirby by 68.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 477,233 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $58,428,000 after purchasing an additional 194,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,106,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently 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.