NBC Securities Inc. Decreases Position in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• NBC Securities cut its stake in Kirby by 92.4% in Q4, selling 9,750 shares and leaving it with 798 shares valued at about $88,000.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — the CEO sold 34,152 shares (~$4.44M) and insiders sold a total of 71,495 shares worth ≈$9.23M, lowering insider ownership to 0.80%.
• Institutional ownership is very high at 96.15%, and analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a $140.20 target (several firms have raised targets to ~$160) after a modest EPS beat.

NBC Securities Inc. cut its position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 92.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 798 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 9,750 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Kirby were worth $88,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,422,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 18.4% during the third quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 131,000 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $10,932,000 after purchasing an additional 20,399 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kirby by 239.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,762 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 11,118 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Kirby during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,030,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Kirby by 60.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 44,665 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 16,772 shares during the period. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kirby news, CEO David W. Grzebinski sold 34,152 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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. This represents a 25.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott P. Miller sold 3,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction of $477,892.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 3,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,224.20. The trade was a 52.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,495 shares of company stock valued at $9,226,173. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX opened at $152.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.83. Kirby Corporation has a 1-year low of $79.51 and a 1-year high of $155.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The shipping company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $851.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.82 million. Kirby had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Kirby Corporation will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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