AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd Invests $7.22 Million in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd has acquired a new stake in Kirby Corporation, purchasing 71,500 shares valued at approximately $7.22 million, which constitutes about 2.4% of their total portfolio.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Select Equity Group and Jennison Associates, have increased their holdings in Kirby, with institutional ownership now at 96.15%.
• Shares of Kirby Corporation fell 2.3% recently, and despite this decline, the company beat earnings forecasts with $1.67 EPS for the last quarter.

AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd bought a new position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 71,500 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $7,222,000. Kirby makes up about 2.4% of AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. AYAL Capital Advisors Ltd owned about 0.13% of Kirby as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position 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 worth $165,650,000 after acquiring an additional 581,215 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Kirby by 122.3% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 633,812 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $64,022,000 after purchasing an additional 348,665 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,741,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Kirby by 11,498.6% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 194,508 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $20,579,000 after purchasing an additional 192,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Kirby by 125.6% during the first quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 222,732 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $22,498,000 after purchasing an additional 124,014 shares in the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE KEX traded down $1.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $89.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,380,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,034. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.26. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.94 and a 1-year high of $132.21.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.