Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 45.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,698 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 49,764 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.29% of Kirby worth $17,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $81,355,000. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth about $58,385,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 335.8% in the 3rd quarter. Appian Way Asset Management LP now owns 675,546 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,374,000 after purchasing an additional 520,535 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 108.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 839,662 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $70,070,000 after purchasing an additional 436,735 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kirby

In other news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total value of $99,916.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.01, for a total value of $250,287.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. The trade was a 16.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KEX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research raised their target price on Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.20.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $141.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.14 and a 200-day moving average of $128.48. 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 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $157.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its 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 company 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 was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Kirby 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.