In a shareholder-friendly move, Kirby Corporation’s (KEX) board of directors has announced a stock repurchase authorization of up to an additional $8 million shares of common stock. With this bold initiative, KEX is not only enhancing shareholder value but also signaling confidence in its ongoing business strategy.
This latest authorization is in addition to the previously announced 5 million share repurchase authorization, of which almost 0.8 million shares were available for repurchase as of Sept. 5, 2025. As a result, Kirby is now authorized to repurchase almost 8.8 million shares collectively.
The announcement of the new buyback program is a value-enhancing move and reflects the company’s confidence in its commercial and operational execution. By resorting to share buybacks, companies signal confidence in their financial health and provide reassurance to investors. Buybacks not only reduce the total outstanding share count, thereby increasing earnings per share, but also signal management’s belief in the intrinsic value of the stock.
We would like to remind investors that KEX has consistently made efforts to reward its shareholders through share buybacks, which is encouraging. As a reflection of its shareholder-friendly stance, 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 2024, KEX purchased 1.6 million shares for $174.6 million.
In 2024, Kirby generated $413.8 million in free cash flow, compared with $138.5 million in 2023, highlighting its financial strength, with an adjusted EBITDA of $708.3 million.
We believe such shareholder-friendly initiatives should boost investor confidence and positively impact this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s bottom line. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of KEX have plunged 22.3% so far this year against an 8.3% surge of the Zacks Transportation – Shipping industry.
KEX Stock’s YTD Price Comparison
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What About Other Transportation Players?
KEX is not the only player from the Zacks Transportation sector that has rewarded its shareholders with dividend payouts or share buyback programs in 2025. To name a few, on Aug. 11, 2025, Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN) board of directorsapproved a new share repurchase program. Per the new program, WERN is now authorized to repurchase up to5 million shares.
On approval of this new program, Werner’s board has withdrawn the earlier share repurchase authorization, which had almost 1.8 million shares remaining available for repurchase as of June 30, 2025 (unveiled during WERN’s second-quarter 2025 earnings release on July 29, 2025). The new authorization is expected to continue until the company’s board announces its withdrawal.
On July 16, 2025, Union Pacific Corporation’s (UNP) board of directors approved a dividend hike of 3%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to $1.38 per share ($5.52 annualized) from $1.34 ($5.36 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid on Sept. 30, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 29. The move reflects UNP’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns. We would like to remind investors that UNP has paid dividends for 126 consecutive years.
Kirby’s Valuation & Estimates
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kirby’s 2025 and 2026 earnings has been revised upward over the past 90 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Impressive Valuation Picture for KEX Stock
From a valuation perspective, KEX is trading at a discount compared to the industry, going by its forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio.
The stock has a forward 12-month P/S-F12M of 1.30X compared with 2.18X for the industry over the past five years. The company’s forward 12-month P/S-F12M ratio is also below the median level of 1.50X over the past five years. These factors indicate that the stock’s valuation is attractive. KEX has a Value Score of B.
KEX P/S Ratio (Forward 12 Months) Vs. Industry
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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