Select Equity Group L.P. Purchases 389,005 Shares of Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stock holdings in Kirby Corporation by 24.8%, owning nearly 3.48% of the company, with shares valued at approximately $197.44 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Park West Asset Management and AQR Capital Management, also significantly raised their positions in Kirby, reflecting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Kirby as Bank of America reduced its price target to $107 while Zacks upgraded its rating to "hold", indicating a consensus target price of $121.

Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,954,698 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 389,005 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned about 3.48% of Kirby worth $197,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 40.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 394 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 0.3% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 36,597 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,697,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 28.7% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 668 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,685 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Kirby by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,726 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KEX. Zacks Research raised shares of Kirby from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.00.

Kirby Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE KEX traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.84. 1,028,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,353. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.03. The company has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.09. Kirby Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.94 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $855.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $851.94 million. Kirby had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Kirby Company 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.