Kirby Corporation (KEX) performed well in the past year and has the potential to sustain the momentum in the future.

Let’s look at the factors that influence investors to retain this stock.

Factors Working in Favor of the KEX Stock

Kirby’s bottom line has been benefiting from its consistent efforts to reward its shareholders through share buybacks. In 2022, Kirby repurchased 0.4 million shares for $22.9 million. During 2023, Kirby repurchased 1,485,159 shares for $112.8 million. The company repurchased 483,335 shares at an average price of $115.46 for $55.8 million in the third quarter of 2024. Such shareholder-friendly moves indicate the company’s commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.

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 9.36%.

Higher free cash flow generation expectation (based on higher revenues and EBITDA amid some supply-chain constraints) for the full year is an added positive. For 2024, KEX now expects to generate 600-$700 million of net cash from operating activities. The guidance marks an improvement from $540.2 million of cash generated from operating activities in 2023 and $294.1 million in 2022.

Key Risks

Rising expenses pose a threat to the company's bottom line. During the first nine months of 2024, costs and expenses rose 3.1% year over year. This was preceded by a 6.3% increase in 2023 and a 3.5% rise in 2022, primarily due to higher costs of sales and operating expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses

Kirby’s liquidity position is a concern. Cash and cash equivalents of $53.54 million at the end of the third quarter of 2024 were lower than the total debt of $978.59 million. This implies that the company does not have enough cash to meet its debt burden.

KEX's Zacks Rank & Price Performance

KEX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Shares of Kirby have displayed impressive performance, appreciating 51.6% in the year-to-date period. This growth is impressive and has outperformed its industry.

YTD Price Performance

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the Zacks Transportation sector are Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD) and Wabtec Corporation WAB. Each stock presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

EXPD has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining quarter and met in the other quarter), delivering an average surprise of 4.75%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EXPD’s 2024 earnings has been revised 6.4% upward over the past 90 days. EXPD has an expected earnings growth rate of 8.38% for 2024. Shares of EXPD have lost 4.5% so far this year.

WAB has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company's earnings outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters (missed the mark in the remaining quarter), delivering an average surprise of 9.46%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WAB’s 2024 earnings has been revised 2.5% upward over the past 90 days. WAB has an expected earnings growth rate of 28.55% for 2024. Shares of WAB have gained 57.4% so far this year.

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