Jul. 8 at 8:12 PM
BofA Securities raised its price target on Kirby Corp. to
$182 from
$169, reiterating its Buy rating as it expects continued earnings growth from both the company's Marine Transportation and Power Generation businesses. Analyst Ken Hoexter highlighted Power Generation as an increasingly important growth driver, fueled by rising demand from data centers and industrial customers.
Management recently said inland marine pricing continues to improve, while the Power Generation backlog has surpassed
$1 billion and is expected to double its installed base over the next 18 months. Roughly half of the backlog is tied to higher-margin natural gas solutions, a shift that should help expand operating margins over time and create a more recurring service revenue stream.
$KEX