Kirby Corporation $KEX Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Kirby Corporation by 84.3%, now owning approximately 129,086 shares worth about $13 million.
• Other institutional investors have increased their positions, with Select Equity Group L.P. boosting its stake by 59% to 1.57 million shares, reflecting growing confidence in the company.
• Kirby Corporation's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.67, exceeding estimates, and analysts have set a new price target of $125.00 with a consensus rating of "Buy."

Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 84.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,086 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 693,287 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.23% of Kirby worth $13,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in Kirby by 295.3% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 253 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kirby during the first quarter worth $28,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of Kirby during the first quarter valued at $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in Kirby during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Price Performance

KEX stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $98.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 520,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,814. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company's 50 day moving average is $109.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.03. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.01.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.The business had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America raised their price objective on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.00.

Kirby Profile

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.