Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has significantly increased its holdings in Kirby Corporation by 568.9%, bringing its investment value to $1.64 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Other institutional investors such as Hsbc Holdings PLC and AQR Capital Management LLC have also made substantial investments in Kirby, highlighting strong institutional interest with 96.15% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Kirby Corporation recently reported earnings of $1.67 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has a current price target set by Bank of America of $125.00 with an average "Buy" rating.

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 568.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,262 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,831 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Kirby were worth $1,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake 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 period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 0.3% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,597 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,697,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Kirby by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,035 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,379,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Kirby by 28.7% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kirby by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.00.

Kirby Stock Down 1.2%

Kirby stock traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.16. The stock had a trading volume of 961,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,248. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.74. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $106.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.09.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $851.94 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, 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.