KEX Kirby Corporation

Kirby Corp (KEX) just jumped into a new all-time high after reporting another strong quarter that came in ahead of expectations. That pushed estimates higher, providing more support and momentum for this Zacks #1 Rank stock.

Company Description

Kirby Corp, through its subsidiaries, provides marine transportation and diesel engine services in the United States. The company was founded in 1969 and has a market cap of $3.62 billion.

Kirby was already having a great year before strong Q2 results from late October pushed shares into a new all-time high.

Third-Quarter Results

Revenue for the period more than doubled from last year, coming in at $564 million. Earnings also came in strong at 94 cents, 2% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the company has an average earnings surprise of 5% over the last four quarters.

The strong results were driven by the company's Marine Transportation segment, where sales jumped 51% from last year to $351 million, helped by the acquisition of K-Sea that comprised 20% of revenue.

But the most explosive growth came from Diesel Engine Services, where strong demand from domestic driller pushed revenue up 338% from last year to $212 million.

Financial Profile

in spite of its recent acquisition, KEX's debt/equity ratio of 54% is still well below the industry average of 63%.

Estimates

We saw some pretty solid movement in estimates off the good quarter, with the current year adding 5% to $3.32. The next-year estimate is pegged at $3.90, a bullish 17% growth projection.

Valuation

But in spite of the gains, KEX's PEG ratio of 1.12 is only marginally higher than the benchmark of 1 for value.

3-Month Chart

On the chart, KEX saw big gains in October, jumping into a new all-time high on the good quarter. Take a look below.

Michael Vodicka is the Momentum Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. He is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Whisper Trader Service.
 
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