Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Trading 8.5% Higher – Here’s Why

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) traded up 8.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $115.17 and last traded at $115.58. 661,647 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the average session volume of 680,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $106.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.40.

Kirby Trading Down 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.84.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kirby Co. will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total transaction of $294,444.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This represents a 23.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. The trade was a 34.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Kirby during the second quarter worth $1,233,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 16.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,536 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Kirby during the second quarter valued at about $1,050,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the 2nd quarter worth about $970,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.