Insider Selling: Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Insider Sells 3,423 Shares of Stock

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) insider Dorman Lynn Strahan sold 3,423 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.11, for a total value of $325,561.53. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,054 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,445.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Kirby Price Performance

Shares of KEX traded up $0.09 on Thursday, hitting $95.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 102,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,588. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.40.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $799.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. Kirby’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 4.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a report on Monday, February 5th.

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.