Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Reduces Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 69.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,400 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 9,789 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Kirby were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Kirby by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 202,272 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Kirby by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Kirby by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,182 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 7,643 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Kirby during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at $16,390,000. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

KEX traded down $0.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $107.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 405,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,676. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. Kirby Co. has a one year low of $83.94 and a one year high of $132.21. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $99.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $824.12 million. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on KEX shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted 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 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.