Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Sold by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings cut its Kirby position by 77.7% in the third quarter, selling 15,509 shares and retaining 4,449 shares valued at approximately $584,000.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 96.15%, with BlackRock and several other major firms establishing new positions during the second quarter.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Kirby, with seven Buy ratings, one Hold rating, and a consensus target price of $169.17. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lowered its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 77.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,449 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 15,509 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Kirby were worth $584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Kirby during the second quarter worth $733,274,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Kirby in the second quarter valued at $69,359,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Kirby in the second quarter valued at $62,549,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the second quarter valued at $53,703,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the second quarter valued at $44,984,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KEX shares. Weiss Ratings raised Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Kirby in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $169.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Kirby in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Kirby from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kirby has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.17.

Kirby Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE KEX opened at $137.41 on Wednesday. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $157.69. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $137.02 and a 200-day moving average of $136.31.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $922.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $870.38 million. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 7.10 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation is a Houston-based marine transportation and industrial services company. Through its marine transportation operations, the company is the largest tank barge operator in the United States, transporting bulk liquid products on the nation's inland and coastal waterways.

Kirby's marine transportation business carries petrochemicals, refined petroleum products, black oil, agricultural chemicals and other bulk liquids for industrial customers. Its operations primarily serve the U.S.

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