Kirby (NYSE:KEX) VP Kurt Niemietz Sells 1,500 Shares

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) VP Kurt Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total transaction of $171,180.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,326.96. This represents a 61.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE KEX traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $112.44. The stock had a trading volume of 91,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,084. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.71 and a 200-day moving average of $102.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.74. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $125.87. The company has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.87.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The firm had revenue of $871.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $843.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on KEX. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Kirby from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $128.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter worth $208,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter worth about $205,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter worth about $360,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 170.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 91,437 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,630,000 after acquiring an additional 57,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Kirby by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 14,267 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.