Kirby Corporation $KEX is Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 27.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 469,611 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 180,147 shares during the quarter. Kirby accounts for about 1.9% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.88% of Kirby worth $62,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Kirby by 2,600.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 537.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 50.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of KEX opened at $145.00 on Tuesday. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $157.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.57 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KEX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kirby from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326.33. This trade represents a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,726 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,257,671.73. This represents a 16.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.