Heartland Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Kirby Corporation by 4.4%, now holding approximately 58,380 shares valued at $5.9 million as per their latest SEC filing.
• Bank of America has raised its price target for Kirby from $116 to $125 and assigned a "buy" rating in a recent report.
• Kirby's earnings report showed a rise in earnings per share to $1.33, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue dropped by 2.8% year-over-year.

Heartland Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,380 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 2,657 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of Kirby worth $5,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Kirby Price Performance

NYSE KEX opened at $118.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $113.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.58. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.94 and a 52-week high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 9.02%. Kirby's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS 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.

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