Encompass Capital Advisors LLC Sells 232,469 Shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Encompass Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 700,358 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 232,469 shares during the period. Kirby comprises about 2.8% of Encompass Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 1.22% of Kirby worth $74,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth about $74,293,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kirby by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $92,712,000 after purchasing an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kirby by 848.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 393,647 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $41,648,000 after purchasing an additional 352,144 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Kirby by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Kirby in the fourth quarter worth about $18,749,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.76. The company had a trading volume of 316,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,656. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.90. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. Kirby Co. has a twelve month low of $83.94 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Kirby's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KEX. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

About Kirby

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.