Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Sells $1,729,881.99 in Stock

Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) COO Christian G. O’neil sold 14,031 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.29, for a total value of $1,729,881.99. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,454.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $124.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.17. Kirby Co. has a 52 week low of $72.11 and a 52 week high of $130.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.18.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. Kirby had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The company had revenue of $824.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Kirby’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kirby from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kirby

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kirby by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,097,723 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $478,549,000 after purchasing an additional 81,808 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Kirby by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,828,758 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,521,000 after buying an additional 63,611 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 4.1% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,401,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $133,624,000 after buying an additional 54,755 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 10.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 955,587 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $91,086,000 after acquiring an additional 90,586 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Kirby by 21.4% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 896,257 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,432,000 after acquiring an additional 157,880 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Company 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.