Kirby (NYSE:KEX) VP Amy Husted Sells 11,667 Shares of Stock

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP Amy Husted sold 11,667 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total value of $1,508,893.11. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 14,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,915,894.62. The trade was a 44.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Kirby Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of KEX opened at $128.60 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $120.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.03. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $79.51 and a 12 month high of $132.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $851.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KEX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research lowered Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.40.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $472,982,000 after buying an additional 134,261 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 92.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,612,119 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $287,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251,700 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,484,508 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $273,745,000 after purchasing an additional 93,676 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position 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 period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Kirby by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,256,667 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $248,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,963 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.