Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 21,022 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,455 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 21,022 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.16% of Kirby worth $7,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $498,118,000 after purchasing an additional 64,420 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,975,000 after buying an additional 14,201 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Kirby by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 738,377 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $57,947,000 after buying an additional 24,040 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 10,891 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 6,828 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In related news, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total transaction of $765,839.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total transaction of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian G. O’neil sold 8,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.15, for a total value of $765,839.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,369,126.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock valued at $4,932,521. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KEX. Wolfe Research began coverage on Kirby in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BTIG Research upped their price target on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $116.00.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $101.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $66.42 and a 52 week high of $102.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $92.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.