Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital cut its stake in Kirby by 32.0% in Q3, selling 116,761 shares and now holds 247,609 shares valued at about $20.66 million.
• Company insiders have been selling recently — CFO Raj Kumar sold 3,000 shares and COO Christian G. O'Neil sold 11,287 shares on March 2 — and insiders sold a total of 82,640 shares worth $10.47 million over the past 90 days (insider ownership 0.90%).
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $132.60; KEX trades near $125.96 and the company reported Q4 EPS of $1.68, beating estimates.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 32.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,609 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 116,761 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.44% of Kirby worth $20,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kirby by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,667,853 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $472,982,000 after buying an additional 134,261 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Kirby by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,282,865 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $258,900,000 after buying an additional 959,209 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 10.8% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,165,929 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $245,638,000 after acquiring an additional 211,231 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position in shares of Kirby by 8.5% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,570,001 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $131,017,000 after acquiring an additional 122,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,225,338 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $138,966,000 after acquiring an additional 299,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raj Kumar sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $398,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,353.80. The trade was a 40.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Christian G. O'neil sold 11,287 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.34, for a total value of $1,493,721.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,493,721.58. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,640 shares of company stock valued at $10,470,847. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Kirby from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Kirby from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $136.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kirby from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 price objective on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.60.

Kirby Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of KEX stock opened at $125.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.32. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $134.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kirby Profile

Kirby Corporation is a leading domestic maritime transporter of bulk liquid products in the United States. Through its Marine Transportation segment, the company operates one of North America's largest fleets of inland tank barges and towing vessels. Kirby's fleet moves petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals along coastal and inland waterways, providing critical logistical support to energy, chemical and agricultural producers.

In addition to its marine operations, Kirby's Distribution and Services segment offers diesel engine and power generation services, along with aftermarket parts sales.

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