Brokerages Set Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) PT at $146.20

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $146.20.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,257,671.73. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total value of $1,647,111.91. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,982,000 after purchasing an additional 134,261 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kirby by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,617,538 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $347,829,000 after purchasing an additional 133,030 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $287,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251,700 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Kirby by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Kirby by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $248,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,963 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

Kirby stock opened at $135.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Kirby has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $157.69. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.06.

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

Kirby Company Profile

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.