Trexquant Investment LP Reduces Stake in Kirby Corporation $KEX

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly reduced its ownership in Kirby Corporation by 81.4%, selling 115,964 shares and holding only 26,498 shares as of the latest filing.
• Several hedge funds have increased their investments in Kirby, with Colonial Trust Co SC notably raising its stake by 295.3% in the previous quarter.
• Despite a decrease in the price target from Bank of America to $107.00, Kirby stock still maintains a "buy" rating and an average target price of $121.00 among analysts.

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its stake in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 81.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,498 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 115,964 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Kirby were worth $2,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Kirby by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 518,255 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $54,831,000 after purchasing an additional 47,895 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,513,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,035 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 668,251 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $70,701,000 after buying an additional 7,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Kirby by 873.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,726 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,732,000 after buying an additional 40,132 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX stock traded down $0.68 on Monday, reaching $88.40. 1,357,972 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 646,135. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a PEG 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $106.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.24. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The shipping company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $855.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 lowered their target price on shares of Kirby from $110.00 to $107.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $121.00.

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.