Premier Fund Managers Ltd Increases Position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd has increased its holdings in Kirby Corporation by 36.1% during the first quarter, now owning 16,131 shares valued at approximately $1.62 million.
• Bank of America has raised its price target on Kirby from $116 to $125, maintaining a "buy" rating for the company.
• Kirby Corporation reported $1.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, though revenue was down 2.8% compared to the previous year.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 36.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,131 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 4,281 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Kirby were worth $1,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Kirby by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Kirby by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,597 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,697,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Kirby by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,035 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,047 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of KEX traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $120.03. The stock had a trading volume of 580,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,696. 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 $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.96. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $113.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.29. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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 note 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.