Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,299 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 68,831 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.26% of Kirby worth $15,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter worth $76,000. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Kirby by 38.8% during the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 833 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the third quarter valued at $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value 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. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kirby from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.25.

Kirby Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE:KEX opened at $99.05 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $105.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.18. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $88.34 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21.

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

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.