Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases Shares of 31,500 Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Key Points

• The Bank of Nova Scotia has acquired a new stake in Kirby Corporation, purchasing 31,500 shares valued at approximately $3.18 million, making up about 0.06% of the company.
• Kirby Corporation reported a quarterly EPS of $1.67, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.59, with a revenue increase of 3.8% year-over-year.
• Analysts have raised their price target for Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00, maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,500 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $3,182,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.06% of Kirby at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,054 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,495 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,086,000 after buying an additional 19,230 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth $1,257,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth $310,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 57,350 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $6,068,000 after purchasing an additional 14,827 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Kirby stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $99.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 676,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,967. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Kirby Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.94 and a 52 week high of $132.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.88.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.07%. The company had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Kirby's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

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.