Select Equity Group L.P. Increases Holdings in 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 Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,954,698 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 389,005 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. owned approximately 3.48% of Kirby worth $197,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of Kirby stock traded down $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.83. 299,704 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 657,096. Kirby Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.94 and a 12-month high of $132.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.83. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Kirby had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 9.25%.The firm had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.