Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Posted by Geri Gentry on Jun 6th, 2026

Shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX – Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $146.20.

KEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kirby from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Kirby

Insider Activity

In other Kirby news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,287 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.93, for a total transaction of $1,647,111.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP William Matthew Woodruff sold 678 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.37, for a total transaction of $99,916.86. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326.33. The trade was a 98.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,691 shares of company stock valued at $2,579,036. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2,600.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 270 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 537.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 306 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Down 1.1%

Kirby stock opened at $141.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.81. Kirby has a 1 year low of $79.51 and a 1 year high of $157.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.48.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $844.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $832.57 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.51% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Kirby has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-7.280 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kirby will post 6.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Kirby

(Get Free Report)

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.