35,849 Shares in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Acquired by Bastion Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Bastion Asset Management Inc. has acquired 35,849 shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) valued at approximately $3.59 million, making it the firm’s 23rd largest holding.
• Analysts from Bank of America have raised Kirby's price target from $116.00 to $125.00 and assigned a "buy" rating, reflecting positive outlook for the company.
• Kirby reported earnings of $1.33 per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, despite a 2.8% revenue decline year-over-year.

Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 35,849 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $3,593,000. Kirby comprises about 2.0% of Bastion Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Bastion Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Kirby as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in Kirby by 295.3% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in Kirby during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Kirby by 147.2% during 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 Kirby during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kirby Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $118.36 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $113.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.06. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

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