Stifel Nicolaus Increases Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target to $118.00

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its price objective hoisted by Stifel Nicolaus from $100.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.16% from the company’s previous close.

KEX has been the topic of a number of other reports. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th.

Kirby Trading Up 0.9 %

KEX opened at $95.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby has a twelve month low of $66.42 and a twelve month high of $101.17.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. Kirby had a net margin of 7.21% and a return on equity of 7.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby will post 4.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 1,413 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.68, for a total value of $119,652.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $901,926.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.