Peregrine Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,585 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,007 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Kirby worth $9,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 415,042 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $43,911,000 after buying an additional 10,486 shares during the period. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Kirby by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. now owns 22,400 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Kirby by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,708 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $55,620,000 after acquiring an additional 48,475 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Kirby by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,821 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at about $432,000. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Stock Performance

NYSE KEX traded down $0.49 on Thursday, reaching $116.90. 527,752 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,171. Kirby Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.92.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $824.12 million. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America upped their target price on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

About Kirby

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.