Kirby (NYSE:KEX) VP Ronald Dragg Sells 2,715 Shares

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP Ronald Dragg sold 2,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total transaction of $299,437.35. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 10,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,744.25. This represents a 20.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.20. 75,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,055. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.54.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $871.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.29 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 5.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,641 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 27,815 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. American Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 295.5% during the 1st quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 41,845 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $4,227,000 after purchasing an additional 31,265 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the first quarter worth $385,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Kirby by 19.0% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 292,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $29,519,000 after buying an additional 46,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on KEX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.40.

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.