Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 411,767 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 113,941 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.72% of Kirby worth $41,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kirby during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,293,000. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 581,215 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 359,770 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Kirby by 848.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 393,647 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $41,648,000 after purchasing an additional 352,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Kirby by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 633,812 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $64,022,000 after purchasing an additional 348,665 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Bank of America upped their target price on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $115.73. The company had a trading volume of 99,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 542,072. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.96. Kirby Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.94 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.76.

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

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.