Axiom Investors LLC DE Lowers Holdings in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC DE has reduced its stake in Kirby Corporation by 56.2%, selling 66,806 shares and now holding 51,962 shares valued at approximately $5.25 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their holdings in Kirby Corporation, with Broklyn Investment Group raising its stake by 40.7% in the same quarter.
• Kirby reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.67 EPS and a revenue of $855.46 million, exceeding analyst estimates.

Axiom Investors LLC DE trimmed its holdings in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 56.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,962 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 66,806 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.09% of Kirby worth $5,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KEX. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Kirby by 40.7% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 394 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 0.3% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,597 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,697,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kirby by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Kirby by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,726 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Trading Down 2.2%

KEX stock traded down $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.09. 858,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,829. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.73. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $855.46 million during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.