Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives $162.20 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.20.

Several brokerages have commented on KEX. Wall Street Zen raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total value of $1,647,111.91. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Kirby by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Kirby by 2.9% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 18.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 739 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,179 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Down 0.4%

KEX stock opened at $148.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.59. Kirby has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $157.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.73. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.