Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX) Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 66.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,052 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 2,408 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Kirby were worth $640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KEX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Kirby by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $43,911,000 after acquiring an additional 10,486 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,749,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Kirby by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,659 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 5,804 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Kirby by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,402 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:KEX traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $110.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 576,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,903. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $83.94 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $100.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The company had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $824.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Kirby's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on KEX shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

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.