Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 114.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,628 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,736 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $258,900,000 after purchasing an additional 959,209 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Kirby by 10.8% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $245,638,000 after purchasing an additional 211,231 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 32.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,225,338 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $138,966,000 after buying an additional 299,981 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Kirby by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 802,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $91,053,000 after buying an additional 6,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 69.3% in the first quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 776,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,384,000 after buying an additional 317,721 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:KEX opened at $110.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $108.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $122.50.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The shipping company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.05. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.05% and a net margin of 9.22%.The firm had revenue of $871.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $843.29 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Kurt A. Niemietz sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.12, for a total value of $171,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 958 shares in the company, valued at $109,326.96. This represents a 61.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 29,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.41, for a total transaction of $3,163,331.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 79,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,561,543.69. This represents a 26.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 57,147 shares of company stock valued at $6,204,544 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEX has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on Kirby from $128.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

About Kirby

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America’s largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby’s fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby’s Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.