Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Price Target Cut to $123.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $133.00 to $123.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the shipping company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 23.17% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on KEX. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.75.

Kirby Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of KEX traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.87. The company had a trading volume of 179,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,830. Kirby has a 1 year low of $93.63 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.73.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Kirby by 295.3% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Kirby in the third quarter worth $42,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. 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.