Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Given New $118.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $100.00 to $118.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

KEX has been the topic of several other reports. BTIG Research raised their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Kirby from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th.

Kirby Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:KEX opened at $95.83 on Friday. Kirby has a 12-month low of $66.42 and a 12-month high of $101.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.95.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The business had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Kirby will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 7,000 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $593,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,399 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,150,283.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,780. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kirby

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 1.8% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 99,767 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,202,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at about $392,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Kirby by 33.4% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 38,864 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,806,000 after buying an additional 9,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Kirby by 1.9% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 164,306 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,861,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

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.