Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,645 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kirby by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 961,303 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $117,724,000 after buying an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 20.3% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,420 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Kirby during the third quarter valued at $5,136,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $17,418,000 after purchasing an additional 30,713 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total transaction of $133,866.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,697.45. This represents a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Kirby Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of KEX stock opened at $95.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.00. Kirby Co. has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

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.