Royce & Associates LP Boosts Stock Position in Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Kirby Corporation by 7.5%, owning 159,482 shares valued at approximately $16.1 million after acquiring an additional 11,183 shares.
• Several other hedge funds, including Wellington Management Group and Select Equity Group, also raised their stakes in Kirby, with Select Equity increasing its holdings by 59.0% in the last quarter.
• Bank of America raised Kirby's price target from $116 to $125 and issued a "buy" rating, as the company's stock saw a 2.0% increase following the announcement.

Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,482 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,183 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.28% of Kirby worth $16,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $186,488,000 after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,565,693 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $165,650,000 after acquiring an additional 581,215 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,300,103 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $131,323,000 after acquiring an additional 107,240 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 876,292 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $92,712,000 after acquiring an additional 359,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 815,008 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $86,228,000 after acquiring an additional 100,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kirby Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Kirby stock traded up $2.37 on Friday, hitting $118.36. The company had a trading volume of 360,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,108. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. Kirby Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.94 and a 1 year high of $132.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.45 and a 200-day moving average of $106.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

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.