M&T Bank Corp Raises Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Kirby by 1,004.2% in Q4 to 55,806 shares (about $6.15M), and institutional investors now own roughly 96.15% of the stock.
• Kirby carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $140.20, while several analysts (BTIG, Citi) have recently raised targets to $160 and Evercore reaffirmed an outperform at $138.
• Insiders sold a total of 71,495 shares worth about $9.23M last quarter — including significant sales by the CEO and a VP — materially reducing their ownership.

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 1,004.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,806 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 50,752 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp owned about 0.10% of Kirby worth $6,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kirby in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kirby by 559.3% in the 3rd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Kirby during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. 96.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $138.00 price target on shares of Kirby in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Kirby from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Kirby from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Kirby from $147.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.20.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEX opened at $150.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average price is $134.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.62. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $79.51 and a fifty-two week high of $152.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.83.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $851.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other news, VP Amy D. Husted sold 11,667 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.33, for a total transaction of $1,508,893.11. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 14,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,915,894.62. This trade represents a 44.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $4,441,467.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,241 shares in the company, valued at $12,776,242.05. The trade was a 25.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $9,226,173. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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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