Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Given Buy Rating at BTIG Research

BTIG Research reissued their buy rating on shares of Kirby (NYSE:KEX) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $125.00 price target on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on KEX. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.33.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX opened at $84.03 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.22. Kirby has a 52-week low of $82.55 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.The company had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 3.1% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 40.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 394 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 67.1% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Kirby by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,597 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,697,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kirby by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kirby

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.