Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on KEX. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Kirby Stock Down 0.8 %

KEX stock opened at $97.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.58. Kirby has a one year low of $66.42 and a one year high of $101.17.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total value of $119,652.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,926.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total transaction of $119,652.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $901,926.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $478,549,000 after buying an additional 81,808 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 0.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,313,776 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $370,370,000 after buying an additional 14,447 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Kirby by 923.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,248,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $273,406,000 after buying an additional 3,833,471 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kirby by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,624,271 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $205,954,000 after purchasing an additional 62,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Kirby by 30.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,100,068 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $173,886,000 after purchasing an additional 495,541 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.