Scott Miller Sells 3,960 Shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Stock

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP Scott Miller sold 3,960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction of $477,892.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 3,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,224.20. This represents a 52.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kirby Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $121.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $79.51 and a 12-month high of $132.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $118.52 and a 200 day moving average of $104.00.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.55% and a net margin of 10.54%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kirby

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 92.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $287,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251,700 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,355,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth $73,784,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth $58,385,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on KEX shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.40.

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.