Voya Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,563 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,692 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Kirby worth $25,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KEX. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Kirby by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,459 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Kirby by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,781 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Kirby by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 29,047 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Kirby by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,914 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Kirby by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 25,508 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $2,699,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott P. Miller sold 1,244 shares of Kirby stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.61, for a total value of $133,866.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,697.45. The trade was a 18.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX traded up $5.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.20. The stock had a trading volume of 405,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,649. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.89. Kirby Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.94 and a fifty-two week high of $132.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The shipping company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06. Kirby had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $785.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $824.12 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Kirby from $133.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Kirby 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.