Kirby’s (KEX) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at BTIG Research

Kirby (NYSE:KEX)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at BTIG Research in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $170.00 price objective on the shipping company’s stock. BTIG Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 24.37% from the company’s previous close.

KEX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Kirby from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kirby has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.20.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock traded down $8.70 on Wednesday, hitting $136.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 200,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,083. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $141.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.20. Kirby has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $157.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 10.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Kirby will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total value of $581,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,680.02. This represents a 27.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $1,422,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Kirby by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,617,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $178,172,000 after buying an additional 47,099 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,772,000. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 87,444 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,635,000 after acquiring an additional 22,013 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 4,237.3% during the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 57,990 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,706,000 after acquiring an additional 56,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Company Profile

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.