Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC has reduced its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE: KEX) by 66.4%, owning 7,491 shares after selling 14,817 shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $757,000.
• Several institutional investors, including BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank AG, have significantly increased their holdings in Kirby, indicating a strong interest in the stock.
• Kirby Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.67, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.59, reflecting a 3.8% revenue increase compared to the previous year.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 66.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,491 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 14,817 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Kirby were worth $757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KEX. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 132,089 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $13,342,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Kirby by 28.7% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,641 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $7,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Kirby by 53.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 672 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Kirby by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 2,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:KEX traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.09. 858,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 888,829. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $103.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.74. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The stock has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.Kirby's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.