Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Sold by First Dallas Securities Inc.

First Dallas Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,190 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,335 shares during the quarter. Kirby comprises approximately 1.1% of First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $2,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Claret Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth $219,000. CenterBook Partners LP increased its stake in Kirby by 1,117.7% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 33,110 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 30,391 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth about $2,435,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Amy D. Husted sold 4,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.43, for a total transaction of $581,720.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,814 shares in the company, valued at $1,572,680.02. This trade represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,691 shares of company stock worth $2,579,036. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock opened at $143.18 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.12. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $79.51 and a 52 week high of $157.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.81.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Kirby had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $832.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Kirby 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.