Formula Growth Ltd. Takes $1.60 Million Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Formula Growth Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,745 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in Kirby by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,617,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $178,172,000 after purchasing an additional 47,099 shares in the last quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kirby by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 87,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,635,000 after buying an additional 22,013 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in Kirby by 4,237.3% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 57,990 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,706,000 after buying an additional 56,653 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,649,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kirby in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,182,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Trading Up 0.7%

Kirby stock opened at $139.96 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $157.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $138.44 and its 200-day moving average is $137.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.84.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.38 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.20.

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.