Insider Selling: Kirby (NYSE:KEX) COO Sells 11,287 Shares of Stock

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) COO Christian O’neil sold 11,287 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total transaction of $1,493,721.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,287 shares in the company, valued at $1,493,721.58. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX stock traded down $1.50 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.33. 140,281 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 761,852. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $134.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 2,600.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Kirby by 67.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 537.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.