Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Kirby Corporation by 1.0%, selling 13,417 shares during the first quarter and now holds 1.32 million shares worth approximately $133.7 million.
• Bank of America lowered its price target on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.
• Kirby Corporation reported earnings of $1.67 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,323,656 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 13,417 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.36% of Kirby worth $133,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Kirby by 295.3% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the first quarter worth about $28,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the first quarter worth about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 147.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 351 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 40.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 394 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $86.90. 156,902 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 651,472. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.74. Kirby Corporation 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 data on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Kirby's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on KEX shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.00.

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.