Insider Selling: Kirby (NYSE:KEX) VP Sells 4,000 Shares of Stock

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP Amy Husted sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president owned 10,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,680.02. This represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of KEX traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $146.60. The company had a trading volume of 493,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,525. The company has a market capitalization of $7.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $79.51 and a one year high of $157.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.55.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.62% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business’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 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Kirby by 2,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kirby by 537.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Kirby by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KEX. Weiss Ratings lowered Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.20.

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.