Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Acquires Shares of 3,025 Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,025 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Kirby by 295.3% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 147.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 351 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Kirby Trading Down 0.3%

KEX stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $100.55. 350,547 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 618,982. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.08 and a 200-day moving average of $106.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.01. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.07%. The firm had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.