Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives $163.20 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.20.

KEX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kirby from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st.

Kirby Stock Up 0.6%

KEX stock opened at $139.36 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.96. Kirby has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $157.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.86.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.04. Kirby had a net margin of 10.18% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $922.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $870.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.280-7.280 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 7.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 537.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 488.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 477 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a marine transportation and industrial services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its marine transportation operations, the company moves bulk liquid products, including petroleum products, chemicals, and agricultural commodities, primarily in the United States.

Kirby operates one of the largest fleets of inland and coastal tank barges in the United States. Its marine transportation network serves the Mississippi River System, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Gulf of Mexico, and other U.S.