J. Goldman & Co LP Increases Stake in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

J. Goldman & Co LP lifted its position in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,768 shares of the shipping company's stock after buying an additional 14,019 shares during the period. J. Goldman & Co LP owned about 0.30% of Kirby worth $18,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KEX. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Kirby in the third quarter worth $5,136,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kirby in the 4th quarter valued at about $614,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Kirby by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 184,061 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $19,474,000 after acquiring an additional 44,959 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in Kirby by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 202,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Kirby by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. 96.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kirby Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE KEX traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $110.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 508,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,079. Kirby Co. has a 12 month low of $83.94 and a 12 month high of $132.21. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $107.69.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KEX. Bank of America increased their price objective on Kirby from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.