Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Bought by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,845 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Kirby were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 168,207 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,201,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kirby by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC now owns 114,621 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $8,995,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kirby by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,015,915 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $498,118,000 after purchasing an additional 64,420 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Kirby by 93.7% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 20,453 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 9,892 shares during the period. Finally, BRYN MAWR TRUST Co bought a new stake in Kirby during the third quarter valued at $292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX opened at $112.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $92.72 and its 200-day moving average is $83.56. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $66.42 and a twelve month high of $114.35.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $799.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.70 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 7.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.60, for a total transaction of $145,508.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $79,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,418 shares of company stock worth $4,932,521 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.