AlphaQuest LLC Trims Stock Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

AlphaQuest LLC trimmed its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 59.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,670 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 9,943 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Kirby were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Kirby by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,236 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 67.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 284 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 453 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Kirby by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,946 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kirby by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KEX shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $109.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Kirby in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price target on Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,715 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.29, for a total value of $299,437.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 10,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,744.25. The trade was a 20.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.83, for a total transaction of $207,357.09. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,071.04. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,147 shares of company stock valued at $6,204,544. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kirby Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE KEX opened at $121.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.88. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $79.51 and a 52-week high of $132.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.55%. Kirby’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Kirby Profile

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.