Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Van ECK Associates Corp cut its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 401,440 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 17,840 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.68% of Kirby worth $31,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 193.5% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 25,866 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 17,052 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 30,993 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,432,000 after buying an additional 12,455 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Kirby by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,150 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 139,848 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,975,000 after acquiring an additional 14,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Kirby by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,705 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Kirby from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Kirby from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $126.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $116.00.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,780. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.78, for a total value of $48,592.86. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $99,780. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Dorman Lynn Strahan sold 3,423 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.11, for a total transaction of $325,561.53. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,445.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,590 shares of company stock worth $4,787,013 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:KEX opened at $109.13 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.19. Kirby Co. has a 12-month low of $69.22 and a 12-month high of $114.35. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The shipping company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $808.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.49 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 8.00%. Kirby’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

About Kirby

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.