Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.80.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total transaction of $1,729,881.99. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,454.34. This represents a 52.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 2,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $361,018.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,280 shares in the company, valued at $668,131.20. The trade was a 35.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,238 shares of company stock valued at $5,366,356. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Kirby during the third quarter worth $5,136,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in Kirby by 112.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 20.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Kirby by 3.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,787 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $117.45 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.87. Kirby has a one year low of $74.88 and a one year high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 9.37%. The business had revenue of $831.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby Company Profile

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.