Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Kirby Corporation (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,180,000 shares, an increase of 37.1% from the May 15th total of 1,590,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 559,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Kirby by 24.8% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,954,698 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $197,444,000 after acquiring an additional 389,005 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Kirby by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,762,651 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $186,488,000 after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 9.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,300,103 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $131,323,000 after purchasing an additional 107,240 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kirby by 32.1% in the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 925,357 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $93,470,000 after purchasing an additional 224,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 69.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Down 0.5%

KEX stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, reaching $112.28. 728,233 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 595,798. The firm's 50 day moving average is $105.49 and its 200 day moving average is $105.23. The firm has a market cap of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Kirby has a twelve month low of $83.94 and a twelve month high of $132.21.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $785.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $824.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kirby will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.