Wall Street Zen Upgrades Kirby (NYSE:KEX) to Buy

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on KEX. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Kirby Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:KEX opened at $103.36 on Friday. Kirby has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.88.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The business had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $843.29 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Kirby by 244.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 231 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Kirby during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in Kirby by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Kirby during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.