Legal & General Group Plc Sells 23,863 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 58,399 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 23,863 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Kirby were worth $6,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KEX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kirby by 30.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 491,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $49,632,000 after acquiring an additional 114,618 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 152.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 182,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,441,000 after acquiring an additional 110,320 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 68.6% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 8,174 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Kirby by 3.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 96,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,951,000 after acquiring an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 52,000.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total value of $1,647,111.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $141.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $143.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on KEX. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.20.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.