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

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Select Equity Group L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $165,650,000 after acquiring an additional 581,215 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Kirby by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 633,812 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $64,022,000 after purchasing an additional 348,665 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Kirby by 69.3% during the 1st quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 776,000 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $78,384,000 after purchasing an additional 317,721 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,741,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kirby by 90.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 527,789 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $52,441,000 after buying an additional 250,601 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.00.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $84.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,064,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,466. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.83 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $102.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

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