Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on KEX. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.20.

Kirby Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE KEX opened at $143.44 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.01. Kirby has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $157.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.85.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.09. Kirby had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The business had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kirby will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other Kirby news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 3,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total value of $398,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,353.80. The trade was a 40.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $581,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,572,680.02. This represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 66,130 shares of company stock valued at $8,912,325 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 2,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 537.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 559.3% in the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.