Bank of America Has Lowered Expectations for Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Stock Price

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its target price reduced by Bank of America from $133.00 to $123.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.75.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE:KEX opened at $100.77 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $104.15 and a 200-day moving average of $113.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Kirby has a twelve month low of $93.63 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. Analysts forecast that Kirby will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Kirby by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $186,488,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,667,520 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $204,154,000 after acquiring an additional 12,337 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $165,650,000 after acquiring an additional 581,215 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $117,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Kirby by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $92,712,000 after purchasing an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.