Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 6,646.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,114 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Kirby were worth $6,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Kirby by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,107 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at $464,000. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter valued at $772,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 13,780 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 1st quarter worth $384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total value of $581,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,680.02. The trade was a 27.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX opened at $143.38 on Friday. Kirby Corporation has a twelve month low of $79.51 and a twelve month high of $157.69. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.83. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.37.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Company 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.