Great Lakes Advisors LLC Makes New $2.65 Million Investment in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 19,485 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,649,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 30.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 491,355 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $49,632,000 after acquiring an additional 114,618 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 152.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 182,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $18,441,000 after purchasing an additional 110,320 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 68.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 8,174 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Kirby by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 96,565 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kirby by 52,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $139.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.22. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $870.38 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.20.

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.