Yahoo Finance Kirby (KEX) Reaches 52-Week High: What's Aiding the Stock?
Shares of Kirby Corporation (KEX) scaled a 52-week high of $123.06 in the trading session on May 22, 2024, before closing a tad lower at $122.16.
The company’s shares gained 55.6% so far this year, steadily outperforming the 23.6% rise of the industry it belongs to.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let’s find out the factors supporting the uptick.
Kirby’s consistent measures to reward its shareholders through share buybacks are appreciative. In 2022, Kirby repurchased 0.4 million shares for $22.9 million. During 2023, Kirby repurchased 1,485,159 shares for $112.8 million. During first-quarter 2024, Kirby repurchased 498,505 shares for $41.8 million. Such shareholder-friendly moves instill investor confidence and positively impact the company's bottom line.
Kirby’s strong cash flow generating ability raises optimism about the stock. In 2023, Kirby generated $540.2 million of cash from operating activities compared with $294.1 million in 2022. In first-quarter 2024, Kirby generated $123.3 million of cash from operating activities compared with $16.5 million in the year-ago quarter. For 2024, net cash flow provided by operating activities is anticipated to be in the $600-$700 million band. The 2024 cash flow guidance is higher than the $540.2 million of cash from operating activities witnessed in 2023.
The positive sentiment surrounding the stock is evident from the fact that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised upward by 6% over the past 90 days.
Further, Kirby has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 10.26%.
KEX has an expected earnings growth rate of 42.20% for the current year.
Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider
Kirby currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks for investors’ consideration in the Zacks Transportation sector include GATX Corporation GATX and Trinity Industries, Inc. (TRN). Each stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
GATX has an encouraging earnings surprise history. The company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters (missing the mark in the other). The average beat is 7.49%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings has been revised 3% upward over the past 90 days. GATX has an expected earnings growth rate of 6.79% for 2024. Shares of the company have risen 18.4% in the past year.
Trinity raised 2024 earnings per share guidance to the range of $1.35 to $1.55 (which excludes items outside of the company’s core business operations) from $1.30 to $1.50 guided previously.
Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for TRN’s 2024 earnings has been revised 2.7% upward. For 2024, TRN’s earnings are expected to grow 8.70% year over year.
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