Kirby (NYSE:KEX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Kirby had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 9.43%.

Kirby Stock Up 7.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KEX traded up $7.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $114.47. 692,490 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 682,538. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.98. Kirby has a 52-week low of $78.63 and a 52-week high of $132.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 15,041 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 7,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,980. This trade represents a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.21, for a total transaction of $1,025,680.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,488 shares in the company, valued at $1,985,716.48. This trade represents a 34.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock valued at $3,275,455 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.