Madison Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,500 Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,500 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 295.3% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 147.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 351 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America boosted their target price on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX stock traded up $2.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.36. 360,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 481,108. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.06. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. Kirby Corporation has a one year low of $83.94 and a one year high of $132.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The company had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

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.