Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,479 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 60,355 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Kirby were worth $8,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Kirby by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $258,900,000 after buying an additional 959,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby in the second quarter worth approximately $78,256,000. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kirby in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,784,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 299,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Kirby by 438.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 271,499 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $22,657,000 after purchasing an additional 221,100 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered Kirby from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kirby currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.40.

Kirby Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Kirby stock opened at $133.85 on Wednesday. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $134.69. The company has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.16 and a 200-day moving average of $106.42.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.82 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 10.54%.The company’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Christian G. O’neil sold 11,145 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.68, for a total value of $1,244,673.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,656,772.80. The trade was a 42.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction of $477,892.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 3,565 shares in the company, valued at $430,224.20. This represents a 52.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 68,353 shares of company stock worth $8,579,025 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.